


Holonatural Occurences

by Phanzure



Category: Hololive, Virtual Streamer Animated Characters
Genre: Action/Adventure, Drama, F/F, F/M, Multi, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-21
Updated: 2021-02-22
Packaged: 2021-03-18 14:08:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 34,780
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29610582
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Phanzure/pseuds/Phanzure
Summary: Turns out, life isn't as it seems as it creeps its way into Haru Shinzou's life. While on a trip, he encounters a mysterious wolf-girl that seems to be linked to something that shouldn't even be real to begin with. With a persistent phoenix, and a determined grim reaper chasing after him, he wished that he could die. Not alone with the fact that a mysterious detective seems to know more than she looks.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 13





	1. The Start of it All

"Haru-kun, like I said before, I don't think you should be... this deep about life. Life isn't all about depression and-" I already knew where this conversation was going; don't view life as this as life is all about this and that along with some other nonsense.

"'Cherishing the people that you meet and the hardships that you face is what creates the person as they are now...'" I've already heard of this from so many people that it starts to get annoying when you hear the first words being spoken.

"...Right. But still, I'm happy that you completed the assignment, but you need to learn that life won't all just be about depression and a lonely life, Haru-kun. Make some friends, play some games with them, don't do your work with them-"

"Aiko-sensei, are you speaking from your own experiences?" The sudden question had left her speechless for a second... before she opened her mouth to speak again.

"...Yes, but this isn't about me, it's about you, Haru-kun," Before she spoke again, she raised her left leg and crossed it over her right one. Great, I'm about to get lectured again, aren't I? Why am I even in here if I completed the assignment? "We teachers are here to teach you, and the students are here to be potential friends. You can't just let your highschool years be wasted doing nothing but just work all the time." She spoke as strictly as she breathed.

"..." I had nothing to say to that as she would always have something to counter my argument. Should I just walk out like I did before? There's no harm in doing that right?

"Don't even think about it, Haru-kun," Before my brain could even process the need of moving my leg, I felt a shiver in my spine. "You aren't trying to leave while I'm still looking at you, right?" Okay.

"...Maybe." I diverted my eyes away from her stern glare. Walking to the nearest chair, I sat down my hands on my lap, ready to not listen to a single word she says. And as she opened her mouth, she breathed out a sigh.

"I don't even know why it's hard for you to understand this, Haru-kun. You have good grades and you're a healthy boy, so why are you still distant from the other students? Maybe you should be friends with Shinzo-kun. He's-" Here we go again with the 'friend the handsome-and-friendly guy'.

"With all due respect, Aiko-sensei, I don't want to be friends with a guy that's attracting so many girls as much as he breathes. My presence will only make his reputation worse." I raised my hand to interrupt her.

"-An overall friendly person, Haru-kun. It matters not of reputation if someone cares more for their friends than reputation."

"...Nope." That's all I could say. Why did I even say anything if I knew that she'd counter my argument? Again, she sighed before looking down at her desk and held the face of sudden realization. I don't like that face. Picking up a pen, she began to write something down on the paper in front of her.

"Here, for you." Taking the piece of paper from out of her hands, I lead my eyes to read the top of the paper to see-

"I absolutely refuse." I placed the paper down on her desk in retaliation.

"You can't refuse because I just signed it."

"I have the freedom of refusing the things that I don't want."

"...I signed the paper."

"I know."

"And the signature is basically saying that it's said and done. You don't have a word in this decision."

"Did you just say that I have no control over my life?"

"When you're in high school, it does work like that."

"...I still refuse."

"And I still signed the paper." Before continuing, we both held a glare to one another. With my hands shaking as if I'm in the freezing cold, I got up from the chair that I sat in and walked to the door.

"I still-"

-Holonatural-

"Alright everyone! It's the day of the field trip~!" Aiko-senpai is definitely a different person when it comes to speaking to the entire class.

"Wooo~!" With the entire class unable to contain their excitement, they raised their fist out in enthusiasm.

"Woo..." Could my day even get worse from this?

"Alright, the bus is going to be here in a few minutes, so everyone get everything that you need in preparation~!" As she finished, the entire class began to speak with one another. Well, if we're going to be leaving in a few, I might as well get my book from the art room.

"If you excuse me..." I spoke silently and sat up from my seat. With Aiko-senpai's eyes on me, I knew that I wouldn't be able to leave the school in hopes of forgetting about this trip. I know she has other security measures to make sure that I don't leave the school premises anyway...

Walking out of the classroom was easy enough as I was able to-

"How ya doin', Haru-kun!" A hand was wrapped around my shoulder suddenly. Judging by the energetic and hyper voice, I could only guess one person.

"...Why are you touching me, Shinzo-senpai?" As he began to scratch his cheek in embarrassment, he maintained a smile.

"Well, Aiko-sensei asked me to watch over you in case you ever decided on leaving the trip for some reason. I know we haven't talked to one another, but I know that I'm capable of the task!" Great, so she managed to get him to watch over me, huh? That's just great.

"...Fine. And by the way, I'm not going to leave the trip, I'm just getting my book from the Art club." And suddenly, he froze up. And then he began to walk again.

"Art club? You mean... the club that everyone thinks is haunted? W-why would you even need to go in there?" I could tell by the fearful expression in his eyes that he's afraid of the room. The stories that people have been saying about some strange and deep voices being heard from within the room are nothing but just rumors to scare students.

"To get my book for drawing. What, don't tell me that you're afraid of going in there?" With the sweat dripping away from his face, he quickly grasped onto the expression of determination... at least trying to.

"W-why would you even think that? If you were in there before, then I have nothing to be afraid about!" As we stopped at the door of the club, I twisted the knob and walked inside without a hint of fear.

"Woah...! What's with all these art portraits here? Don't tell me that you've been-"

"Of course not, I can barely draw anything myself. They belong to someone else who's been in here before. Strangely enough, they don't leave any names or anything that can give me a clue as to who they belong to..." Staring at one of the portraits, I could see the image of a moonlight sky peering through the window of the room, with trees blowing gently with the wind outside.

"Whoever did them were really talented..." Shinzo-senpai spoke in his amazement. Moving away from the art, I located my book that was on one of the tables and opened it.

"Good luck on your trip!"

I don't know who wrote in it, but I can guess that it was Aiko-sensei. Seriously, does she need to go to such length to even go to the place where I get to be calm and touch my stuff? She's very persistent.

"Say, how long have you been here, Haru-kun?" He asked as he went through the many portraits on the canvas stand.

"...I don't remember the first time I've been here, actually," Turning to me, he looked as if he was confused as to what I just said. "I've been coming here for a long time, so I don't really remember."

"A-ah... I guess I could understand that. Sometimes I remember being at places that aren't familiar to me... but they felt familiar for some reason. I sound kind of stupid..." What could he mean by that?

"Anyway, let's get going. I got what I wanted so let's go," Walking to the door, I could hear the sounds of running behind me as I believed that Shinzo-senpai was trying to hurry behind me. "Shinzo-senpai, you don't have to run behind me, you know."

"Hm? I'm not running." Looking behind me, I could see Shinzo-senpai still staring at the portrait with interest. Wait... was I hearing things? I could've sworn that I heard running.

"N-nevermind, let's just go already." With my hand on the knob, I opened the door and waited for him to come with me, but he decided to keep looking through the portraits while mumbling something.

"H-huh? Oh, just go without me, okay? I'll catch up soon." Is he that into the artworks? Huh, never knew he has that kind interest in art. Without saying anything else, I left the room to hurry back to class.

I knew that this was going to be a terrible day for me.


	2. Phoenix's Feather

"We're here, everyone~!" Getting off the bus, I looked up to the large mountainous region and sighed. Out of everywhere, why did we have to go to the mountains?

"Aiko-senpai, where even are we?" A male student asked that I cared not to learn his name. Before anyone else could answer his question, Aiko-senpai spoke out.

"The Chō shizen-teki Shrine~! Because of it's-" Chō shizen-teki? Doesn't that mean 'supernatural'? There's nothing supernatural about this place to begin with. For everything that it's worth-

"Haru-kun~!" Oh boy, why is he still following me? Turning around, I could see him running towards me with this weird feminine like run. But, before he could even reach me, he was bombarded with females calling out Shinzo-senpai's name.

"Shinzo-senpai~!" One girl shouted out.

"Let's walk together, Shinzo-senpai~!" Another shrieked.

"Come one, let's go~!" A third finally-why am I still here? I don't have the time to deal with this crap.

"W-wait a second! H-hold on, you guys! Haru-kun, wait for me~!" Wasting no time to stand there, I walked away from the scene into any random direction that peaks my interest...

"Is there something you need, sir?" With the sudden squeaky voice to my right, I jumped in fear. Looking... down at her, I could tell that she was a shrine maiden. With the pink-red colored hair and pink and white colored shrine outfit... yeah, she's definitely a shrine maiden.

"H-huh? O-oh, I don't..." She had a suspicious look in her eye but that was quickly replaced with a smile.

"Then, please, stay with your group. However, it is rude of me to not introduce myself first. I am your guide today, Sakura Miko. Please restrain yourself to sightsee until after I show you what I have to offer." For someone with her voice, she takes her job a bit seriously...

"Y-yeah, I'll do that. Sorry for the trouble." I quickly bowed in apology.

"There's no need to apologize, I can see that you mean no harm." She waved my apology with a nervous smile. Okay, I should stop annoying her from doing her job.

"I-'ll be going now!" Pacing away quickly, I joined back with the group without a single person being suspicious of me.

Expect Aiko-senpai.

"Hm..." Taking a quick glance at Aiko-senpai, I could already tell that she already suspected me wanting to leave the group. To move away from her glare, I joined into the bunched up crowd of students to blend in. If anything, I don't want to be scolded on a day of freedom from school.

"It's a pleasure to meet you all! My name is Miko Sakura, and I will do my best to become the best travel guide you all have ever had!" The girl that I had met earlier had stood in front of the group, bowing down to show her politeness. Sudden cheers began to riot from the crowd, taking me by surprise. Are they really this happy for something that looks boring?

"Hey, doesn't she look cute?" I heard a male student say to another student that I care nothing about.

"Yeah she does! You think I have a chance if I asked her out?" He responded.

"Hmm, she does look our age, so why not?! I'm rooting for your chance!" I shouldn't even be here for this conversation.

"Please, follow me!" As she began to walk up the stairs that were right behind her, everyone followed suit.

"Haru-kun!" Feeling the same hand touch my shoulder, I could tell who it was again. The same blonde, good-looking, and handsome guy, Shinzo-senpai. Turning to him, I could see his annoying smile and green eyes pierce through me as if I was an item. God, I hate him.

"Is there something wrong, Shinzo-senpai?" As we walked I opened my art book and looked around to see anything that could be as reference. The trees, the buildings... hm, I guess I can start something with this. Even as we walk, thank god the trees look the same as I wouldn't be able to draw like this.

"Of course not! We just got here, so how could there be a problem?!" Why is he so loud?

"Don't you have those fangirls to be talking to? You have so many of them as friends, so why are you even wasting your time with me?" Doing the routine of looking at the reference and back at my drawing was almost going good... if Shinzo-senpai wasn't bothering me.

"O-oh, yeah... I kind of told them to not bother me right now." Hm? Refusing the act of talking to the girls? Never thought he had it in him to even refuse a conversation.

"Oh? And that led you to bothering me?" I heard a small 'humuhumu' agreeing sound from him. Wow, even when he knows that he's bothering me, he's-

"That's looking good, Haru-kun!" As he crept over my shoulder to see what I was drawing, I could feel my face become red for a second. Geez, not again!

"Hey, could you b-back off! I'm trying to draw here! Besides, it's not even that good..." I was able to calm myself down from the occurrence, but I don't know-wait, why was I even getting the response from him? He's not a-

"Stop doubting yourself! You're never going to become better if you keep turning a blind eye on your skills!"

"...Just leave me alone." Pushing him away a bit, I was able to push further into the crowd so he can lose sight of me. I could hear some girls and boys talking about my rudeness, but I didn't care at this point.

-Holonatural-

"And this is where you will be able to see the displays here!" When we entered this... museum-like building, I could see some displays of some pretty important stuff. What even is this kind of trip? Is it for sightseeing or a history exhibit? I wasn't paying attention to her tour, so I wouldn't be able to answer any of those questions.

They didn't look all that important like I was thinking they were. Samurai outfits, swords, and everything that you will typically see in a museum. Hm, seriously, why was all this stuff here?

"And this... is the Phoenix's Feather," A phoenix's feather, huh? That wasn't from some different type of ordinary bird that still exists in this time, right? I mean, it does look beautiful, but come on, a- "From a beautiful phoenix, the feather had satisfied the life of the deceased, granting them the wish of resurrection!"

"...Is that true? I mean, resurrection? That's not even possible!" An ignorant male exclaimed. To this, our tourist had only smiled and raised her finger.

"It is what you want to believe fellow student! Now then, let's continue forward, shall we?" Having the group follow along with her, they continued further into the building. Great, we have more to see? Hm... now that I'm in the back... I could sneak out of here and just sightsee for some art. It's not anything I'm doing is bad.

And as easily as it sounded, I walked from where we came from, and exited the building, breathing the fresh air granted to me.

"Ah, the smell of terrible air..." Walking through the path that we had followed to get here, I had decided to continue looking for some things that were interesting. And sadly, everything looked the same...

"Come on, there has to be something a bit different around here..." Looking at my right, I saw a staircase that led to a path that wasn't introduced yet. Hm, it looks promising enough. Walking up the path, everything was starting to look the same too.

Well, until...

"Hm? Why is there a gate up here?" From all of the other paths, there wasn't a single gate shown instead of this one. Is this some sort of special place or something? But, whatever, I'm tired of walking right now. I need a break.

"Phew..." Sitting down on the stone, I only sighed from exhaustion. It's quiet here... as if I was in my own mind for some reason. I wasn't able to be like this for a long time. I've been... nevermind, nothing comes from out of this. I might as well-

*Ding!*

I wasn't familiar with the sound, but it sounded something like a bell of some sort. Turning around, the direction of where I heard the source, I could see...

"Huh...?" When I turned to look up, I could see the figure of a girl... a teen in fact. She was wearing some sort of sailor outfit but it was cropped to her stomach. The only thing I could say was that her attire seemed... unnatural.

"Are you...?" From her peering yellow eyes, she spoke a few words to me, but she didn't continue. But what bothered me other than her eyes...

"Ears on..." Other than her eyes, there were... wolf-like ears that were twitching on her head. I didn't get a good look on them as I began to fall backwards from my lack of balance on the disproportionate stone.

"Wait...!" It was as you would typically expect when falling down on your back; the sudden fear from not knowing where you will land, the wind that begins to pick from the fall... I don't remember how long I've been climbing... am I going to die from this fall?

If so...

Then I don't care.

But suddenly, the flow of wind had stopped. I had stopped falling.

"Are you okay?" Feeling a hand under my thighs, I realized that I was being carried. A sudden heat began to develop visibly on my cheeks. Hearing the feminine voice, I looked up to see the face of my savior, the girl that I had just saw in front of me a second ago.

"Huh...?" Her long black hair was flowing gently with the wind, almost as if she was the one that was causing the wind to breeze through the air. Her yellow eyes of concern had shaken me into realization. I'm being carried bridal-style.

"Can you talk, sir?" She tilted her head adorably, asking a different question from the one earlier. I... can't handle this right now...!

"A-ah!" Trying to break away from her hold on me, I started to shake my body around. It... wasn't something I was controlling on my own. My body started to act all over the place...

"S-stop shaking so much! You're going to fall again! C-calm down!" In response to my sudden actions, she increased her grip on me, pulling me closer to her.

"P-put me down!" I shouted, only for my body's sporadic motions to continue more although a bit more restricted.

"J-just calm down first!" She retaliated.

"I-I can't if you're this close to me!"

"I'm trying to make sure that you don't fall!"

"T-then let me fall!"

"Why would I do that?! Are you suicidal?!" Before I could say anything else the girl suddenly stopped and looked up the staircase. I can use this chance and leave! But before I could do anything to break out of her release, she put me down on her own.

"It'll be dangerous to keep going on ahead. You should get going now, sir. I'll be seeing you." With that, she started to walk up the staircase. I found her sudden attention towards the top of the staircase weird, but I can finally leave now. Hopefully, I can get back to the group without raising any suspicion...

-Holonatural-

And so, I traveled back the way I came from and got back to where the start of the tour was. I don't know how far they traveled, but I'm sure that they are already out of the building. Since this place has so many paths to follow, I can certainly meet up with them somehow.

Hm? What's with these vans doing here? There were three vans parked in front of me, two of them had the same white color to them, but the other one was a lot more bigger than the other two.

"This... isn't suspicious at all." Whatever the reason these vans are doing here, it didn't matter. It's not like this was some heist to steal anything in here. This place doesn't even seem like one to stand out. What are they going to steal, swords and armor?

And so, remembering the path to get to the building, I noticed that I didn't see anyone outside of the building. Was the building really huge to begin with? Compared to the look outside, it wasn't that big. Maybe there's some sort of underground chamber? I have to stop thinking about this child-like fantasy. I'm at the building, so there's no point in-

*Crash!*

Huh? That sounded like glass was breaking. What's going on in there!? Running to the entrance door, I peeked inside to see-

"No sign of it anywhere. We're moving to the next room now." A masculine man wearing a ski mask was talking into his shirt. Did he have some sort of walkie-talkie? Nevermind that, this is a heist! What the hell are they even trying to take?! I don't know how many are in the building, but the three men in front of me must be searching for... something.

"Hey, Frog, you think that the Phoenix's Feather is actually a thing? I mean, do you really believe in resurrection? This has to be some sort of-" Another man was talking to what seemed to be like the leader, but I couldn't tell.

"Enough talk, whether or not it's true or not, we do as we are told. I'm not a fan of blood, but if one of you dare to do something out of order again, then I'm going to be the one who decides who dies." The 'leader' spoke out. The Phoenix's Feather? They're actually going after that sort of thing?!

I-I... shouldn't probably be here. I should probably call the cops and let them deal with this situation. Getting my phone out, I looked to see if there was any connection around here... but there wasn't. If I was going to get a connection, I'm going to have to go back to where the tour began!

-Holonatural-

"Come one, they were just kids, Frog! I mean, they should've understood what was going to happen if they got in our way!" Kids? Is he... talking about the other students? Did they... kill some of them? They... actually killed some of the students? I couldn't control the amount of fear that I had in my body. My hands began to shake, my teeth began to chatter... was I going to die if I stayed here?

"It doesn't matter if they're kids! You are to follow my order and my order only! We round up the kids, and we make sure that they are silenced! That does not mean kill some of them! Speak against my word again and this bullet will be through your head!" Walking forward, the man began to go into the next room, with his minions following suit after terrifyingly nodding.

Would it be bad enough to abandon them? There... there are students still being threatened somewhere in the building and... what if... Aiko-sensei is dead? What if... Shinzo-senpai is dead? Why am I even thinking about them to begin with? I... shouldn't care about them! They were... pushing their way into my life for no reason to begin with!

I...

'This is not your fault, Haru.' A familiar feminine voice had echoed within my head.

"I have every right to believe that it's my fault if they're dead..." If I was here... maybe this wouldn't have happened. If I was here, then no one wouldn't have gotten hurt...

Looking back from where they walked to, I noticed that they were moving away from the location of the Phoenix's Feather. If I could get it and offer it to them in exchange for the students, Aiko-sensei, and Shinzo-senpai... would it happen? Or am I just naive?

My heart was getting close to burst out of my chest from this anxiety I was feeling.

"I... have to risk it..." Quickly pacing to where the display was for the feather, I noticed that it was still under the glass. Lifting it up, I got the feather from the display stool and looked at it. The orange-teal-like feather was starting to glow a bit, almost as if it was reacting to me. This was truly... a beautiful feather.

"I'm... coming." My determination was fake, but I at least have to try to do something. I can't... allow myself to allow death to happen again.


	3. Moment of Action

"Frog, the feather is missing from its display!" Hearing a man call out to their leader, I knew I was in the right place. Peeking inside the room, I was able to see the same three men from earlier. Just getting here was a problem because I couldn't even figure out where I was going! Luckily, I was able to find them so they could lead me to the students and Aiko-sensei.

"What!? Did you check the students to see if they had it on them!?" The leader was furious from the situation that they were in. Looks like I was lucky enough to get the feather before any of them. But in order to set this up, I need to get to the room where the students are in...

"N-no... but we believe that there might be another student roaming around here because the entrance of the building has been opened." One man shakily replied.

"We missed a student? How could that even be? Why would any student decide to walk away from their group? You, check the building to see if that student is still around here. If he or she stole it, then we're not the only ones that know of its importance." After the man had saluted, he ran into another direction to search for me. "Come on, let's go see if the students have the feather in case we missed it." Okay, all I need to do is follow them and begin my... stupid plan.

As they walked into the room in front of them, I silently followed behind them. As I peeked behind the door again, I noticed that they kept walking forward into the next room in front of them again. As they shut the door behind them, I walked forward a bit, only to find myself tripping on something.

"Gggh!" Restraining myself from letting out a yelp, I looked down to see what I tripped on...

It was a student's body. Shot in his right chest, he was holding onto the wound... but died regardless. I was doing my restraining the urge to puke right then and there. Not only was it just this one body, there were a few bodies scattered around the room. I... couldn't handle this, I need to go! Moving slowly towards the door they were just at, I peeked behind the door again to see the students and the leader.

'It's not your fault, Haru.'

"Okay, based on what I've been hearing from my comrades, the Phoenix's Feather is missing from its display. Now, unless any of you want to end up like some of your fellow classmates, then I hope to hear some clear answers from you all before I-"

"Leave them alone! They have nothing to do with its disappearance!" Standing in front of the group with her arms out in a defensive stance, Sakura-chan, with blood traveling down her head, stood there with the determination to protect the students.

"Look, I'm not a fan of violence, girly, but if you think I'm going to trust your word, then you must be stupid. Grabbing a lock of her hair, she was brought down onto her knees and placed to be facing the students. Looking around the room, I could see Aiko-sensei and Shinzo-senpai alive... that's... that's good. But... Aiko-senpai looks out cold.

"Now, one of you better give me some sort of lead as to where the feather might be... or..." Bringing out a knife and holding it next to Sakura-chan's throat, the students began to become fearful. "There might be another dead body caused by you alls' ignorance..."

"I... told you, they... don't have it. They have been with me the entire time!" With the knife being held more closer to her throat, she quieted her mouth.

"Yes, yes, I heard you the first time. Okay, how about this? I also heard that there was another student that's part of your group. Mind explaining to me as to why that is? Everyone has four seconds before her neck is sliced." He was threatening to get answers quickly now...

"Haru-kun...?" I heard Shinzo-senpai's voice instantly call out, but he wasn't looking at me, he was still focused on Aiko-senpai. With the other man standing on the leader's right, he held his gun toward the students, maintaining them from doing anything.

"Haru-kun, huh? Well? Tell me why he's not part of your group, kid." The leader directed his attention at Shinzo-senpai and spoke to him.

"He's... I don't know. He was always distancing himself away from us, so I wouldn't know why he's not a part of our group..." Shinzo-senpai responded, sweat visibly shown trickling down his face.

"You're telling me that he was always like this, or did he start being like this on this trip?" He already told you, idiot! If I don't do something quick, the other guy might come back and spot me.

"...Yes." He said while nodding his head.

"Okay, but I'm not satisfied. Tell me, where would he be right-"

"Let her go." I spoke out to him. Hearing me, he turned around to see me with the Phoenix's Feather in my hand.

"So, you're Haru-kun, huh? Where did you come from trying to order me around?" He still had Sakura-chan in his grasp...

"Step away from her." The leader began to chuckle a bit. Looking at the students, I could see that they're still fearing for their life. Even while afraid, I could see Shinzo-senpai's concerned eyes looking at me.

"Listen kid, I know you're trying to be a hero and I respect you for that, but you do realize that I don't have to listen to you, right?" Raising the feather above me, which was odd to the leader, I still held my ground.

"Let her go... or I'll eat this." With the other guy raising his gun at me, I can feel the fear begin to rise within me again. The adrenaline was starting to wear off now...

"...That's going to be a bad move, kid. If you eat it, then I'm going to have to kill you and take it out myself. Now, why don't-"

"Let her go, or I'll eat the damn feather!" Cutting him off, he began to glare at me. Although I had the upper hand with the feather, he wasn't budging at all. We stood there for a few seconds and no one was budging. I think he's trying to stall time for the other guy to get back.

...I have no choice. I eat it, then they'll let Sakura-chan go and try to kill me. As long as they kill me then... no one else has to die.

"Hey, what do you think you're doing!?" Hearing the other guy behind me, I knew I was screwed. Time's up, I have to do it! I began to lower the feather into my mouth.

"Stop! Do you have any idea what you're going to do!?" The leader begged me to stop.

"...I don't know what a feather tastes like, but I guess I'm going to find out now, huh?" And so, I quickly swallowed the feather, getting this weird aftertaste.

Before I knew it, someone jumped right in front of me.

Huh? Why was my chest hurting?

Before I knew it, I felt something pierce through my chest. Looking down, blood started to drip down my body.

I was shot in the chest.

"Damn it, what did I just tell you earlier!? My order and my order only! I didn't want him dead, I wanted him alive!" The leader let Sakura-chan go and ran towards me.

"But you said-"

"It didn't... what I... said! You... act... my... order...!" I was starting to blackout. I couldn't hear that much of what they were saying.

"Ha...ru...kun..." Looking to my right I could see... Shinzo-senpai on the floor... with blood dripping down his mouth. Other than the fact that he's crying, he still smiles in this situation.

"W...why...?" I looked up to the ceiling, as if I was asking God to answer my question. I wanted to ask again, but I couldn't. I was beginning to lose feeling of my body functions.

Until the light above my head blackened.

I died, didn't I? I feel cold and alone in this... cave of some sort. Is this what it's like to be dead? Was there any chance of me going to heaven? Why am I in a cave? Why am I... why am I?

"Another one, huh? If you're here... then you're another Lost Child. Hm, yes, I can definitely feel the dread coming from you." I turned around to see a woman carrying a scythe in hand. Wearing... what is she wearing? What is that called? What is... going...

"..." I...can't....think... head...

"I see, your mind's deteriorating quicker than the others. Hm, you must really be a sad soul, aren't you? Dread, loneliness, sadness, guilt... but there is a bit of compassion in you. Come along, let's get you out of here." ...Followed.

"Come on, no need to be afraid right now. Here, I'll hold your hand. Let's move along now."

Wa...lked. "Now then, since we're here, it'll be good enough to introduce myself. My name is Mori Calliope, it's a pleasure to meet you. Hm, it's hard enough to get a reaction out of you since you're here... so I think I'll just read your information here. Hm... yes... okay... I see now..."

"Wait a second, Calli~!" Up...?


	4. The "Super-Duper-Extra-Promise

"Would you cut it out already!? Why do you keep dying over and over again!?" Dy.i..ng..

"It's because of love~! Even in death, you can never stop the flow of true love~!" Lo..ve.

"Enough about love already! It's getting annoying!" ...

"Then why do you keep blushing~?" ...

"I'm not blushing!"

"You so are~!"

"I'm not!"

"You. Are~!"

"Okay, I'm already getting tired of this, Stupid Bird!"

"I'm not a bird! I'm a phoenix!"

"...Why are you here, Kiara? I have work to do. Can't you see that you're interrupting my client?"

"So sorry! But I'm afraid that I'm going to have to interrupt your job some more! Hey! Get your scythe away from my neck!"

"Choose your words carefully, Stupid Bird. Interrupting a reaper's job is serious business. And as you can tell, I take my job seriously..."

"Well... sorry!"

"Don't move my scythe away while I'm threatening you!"

"Sorry~!"

"Stop saying sorry, Stupid Bird!"

"Anyway, I have to chat with your... client. As you can see behind you..."

"What? Why is his stomach glowing? Did you do something to him!? And don't you dare move my scythe away from your throat again!"

"I didn't do anything! If anything, he's the one that did something! I have to talk to him about it!"

"...Fine. But try anything funny, and it's your head. Go on. Go... "talk" to my client."

"So protective~! Is this how you're going to treat me while we're on dates!?"

"..."

"Okay, I got it, I got it!"

"...Make it fast."

"Yeah, yeah. So... you're the one who used my Phoenix Feather, huh? Pretty average, but cute regardless! You're so adorable~!"

"Hey, what do you think you're doing!?"

"Sorry about this, but I'm going to have to duck your head for a second. Wee~!"

"Don't dodge my attack, Stupid Bird!"

"You could've hurt your client!"

"...He'll be fine."

"Well I beg to differ! Anyway, your stomach is glowing like that because... you ate my feather... huh, you're a pretty weird one aren't you? Now then, let's do what I came here for..." Feel... I was beginning to feel warm again. I can... think clearly now! But still, for some reason, I can't let out anything from my mouth.

"Hey, Stupid Bird, what did you do!?" With clear aggravation in her eyes, the... Calliope-san was seriously close to swiping... Kiara-san with her scythe.

"I did what I was set out to do, Calli~! I resurrected him with the Phoenix Feather from inside him! Sadly... I won't be able to take it away from him though..." Kiara-san was starting to stare at my stomach with a glare. Was... was there something wrong with me eating the feather?

"You can't resurrect him! It's my job to bring him to the next area!" Calliope-san angrily shouted.

"Um... yeah I can, I'm doing just that. But my problem is that I can't figure a way to get the feather from-ah... it disappeared," Looking up at me with a smile, she grabbed my shoulders, allowing another instance of red to develop on my cheeks. "Hey, so... sorry that I couldn't take that feather from out of you. No hard feelings right?" She tilted her head adorably.

"What are you even talking about? What stupid feather are you talking about?" Calliope-san asked with her arms crossed under her breasts. Turning around, Kiara-san started to scratch the back of her head.

"Well... a long, long, long, long, long, time ago, I accidentally left some feathers around and... it kind of grants some people... a one time feather deal of being resurrected after dying with the feather. I met some people who had it, but I was always able to take it back so it wasn't used again after being resurrected..." Kiara-san's explanation was generally confusing me. She's the one that owns the Phoenix Feather? But... she doesn't even look like a phoenix!

"Ah, I remember hearing the stories of other reapers not being able to do their job because of you. So... are you going to explain how that has anything to do with my client?"

"It's as simple as it sounds!" Kiara-san shouted, enabling Calliope-san to get a bit annoyed.

"Are you calling me stupid!?"

"Since I couldn't get the Phoenix Feather from him... and it disappeared within him," Kiara-san slowly turned her head towards me with a nervous smile. "It looks like we're going to be fellow immortals!" She spoke with nervous enthusiasm.

"WHAT," Calliope-san took the few letters out of my mouth. I'm... immortal? I don't want to be immortal! I can't live on forever! I don't want to live a life that keeps making mistakes! I... can't live on like this. "That is absolutely unforgivable, Kiara! Do you know what that means for me!? My perfect record won't be perfect! He has to die!" Calliope-san lifted her scythe to attack me, but the sight of orange-teal hair got in my way to take the attack.

"I love you, Calli, but that's uncalled for," With a mecha-like orange... shield and sword in hand, Kiara-san managed to block her scythe from hitting me. "How are you going to attack as innocent as him!?" Shoving her scythe away, she questioned her with her shield still raised.

"I told you already, I refuse to fail my objective; and that's to make sure that those who have died, go to the next world. I'm not letting you stop me, Stupid Bird." Calliope-san didn't appear to want to let me go. I don't know how that rule she follows is still relevant as I'm back to being alive, but...

I took a step forward in front of Kiara, not wanting her to protect me.

"H-hey! What are you doing!?" I shook my head at her. I couldn't speak, but I could still move my body. "Why are you going towards your killer!? Don't you want to live!?" I shook my head again with my eyes closed. I couldn't stay alive, not like this. Living an immortal life? I refuse to live a life that I don't even deserve.

"That's the majority in agreement, Stupid Bird. I might not know how to get rid of this immortality, but I'm afraid that he's going to have to stay here until I figure that out. Now go along, fly on to wherever you came from." In response to Calliope-san's rudeness, Kiara-san lowered her sword and shield, along with her head.

"...What?" I heard her mutter, getting the attention of both me and Calliope-san.

"What's wrong now?" Calliope-san asked the shocked Kiara-san.

"What... what do you mean you want to stay dead?" She had the look of dread in her eyes, almost as if I were the first person to want to stay dead. And I... actually might be. "You're young, don't you want to see your friends and family again? I mean, why else would you have my feather!? This is a second chance to start over!" In her perspective, this is actually one of the dumbest decisions that she had ever seen, but for me... it's a chance for making things right for my family.

"He wasn't in the right situation with your feather. And more importantly, with his mind made up, I should be the one to-"

"I refuse!"

"What? What are you-" Before she could finish her sentence, Kiara started to run towards us, taking us both off guard. With her hand on my chest, she looked up to me with a determined expression.

"I refuse to believe that you want to die! I won't allow it!" I was confused at first, but suddenly, my body began to feel hazy. As I was starting to feel my feet leaving the floor, I looked back at Kiara-san with widened eyes.

W-what's going on?

"You absolute buffoon! What have you done!?" I see Calliope-san angrily shouting at Kiara-san while shaking her with her hands on Kiara-san's shoulders. Kiara only began to laugh sheepishly.

"I forced the resurrection!" To that, both Calliope-san's and my own eyes widened in realization. What!? I don't want to be resurrected!

"Do my words go out your other ear!? I told you that-"

"And I told you that I refuse to believe it. It's my job to resurrect the dead when they use my feather!" Suddenly, I was starting to lose feeling in my feet. Looking down, I saw my legs beginning to turn into gold dust. No. No. No. NO! I don't want this! I don't want to go back!

"He wanted to die, idiot! How are you going to force someone who wants to die, back to life!?"

"Oh? And how can you tell?"

"Because I read his report and sensed his soul! He doesn't want to go back!"

"Then I'll make sure that he doesn't want to die anymore! You hear me up there!? I'm going to make sure that you'll live the best life ever!" The dust was starting to reach to my chest. As much as I would like to yell at the "Stupid Bird", I couldn't help but be more afraid of what's going to happen to me now.

"How are you possibly going to do that!? What's the point in telling him that if he's immortal!? You know what, I don't have the time to talk to you!" Raising her scythe again, she was prepared to try to slice me again, but...

"Hug Attack!" Suddenly beginning to hug Calliope-san, Kiara-san was restraining her from attacking me. From the sudden closeness, Calliope-san's face began to heat red.

"G-get the hell off of me!" While Calliope-san was trying to shake Kiara-san off, she was having no effort in doing so.

"Don't you dare kill yourself before I get to you, you hear!? I'm going to make sure that you'll live the best life you've ever had! On my honor as a Phoenix, I make this the "Super-duper Extra Promise!" She then began to laugh hysterically. While the dust was starting to reach my nose, I knew I was close being done with the process.

"Enough! I'm not giving up, Stupid Bird! I'm going to make sure that I send him to the next world! It's wha" With her enthusiasm, why am I feeling as though I'm being threatened?

"No you won't~! Not if I stop you, Calli~!"

"I told you to back the hell-" Suddenly, my vision brightened, almost as if I was looking directly at the sun itself. This second life of mine was going to get a whole lot worse. I could feel it.

I wish I could stay dead.

-Hololonatural-

The sound of an alarm had plagued my ears. Slowly opening my eyes, I looked to the ceiling of the roof, immediately recognizing the surrounding area I was in. The blue painted walls, the window to my right, the TV in front of me... I am home.

"Hey sport, how ya' doin'?" Looking to my left to see the source of the masculine voice, I recognized who was sitting at the left of my bed.

"Dad..." He snorted, then began to laugh out loud.

"Hahaha! Is that how you greet your father after witnessing a life-threatening situation!? Where's the enthusiasm in your voice!? C'mon, show me the lungs that you have in your body!" I groaned while sitting up from my bed.

"Dad, we-"

"Show it to me!" My dad cut me off, granting me a nervous sweatdrop to form at the side of my head.

"We shouldn't be-"

"C'mon, son!"

"It's the middle of the nig-"

"SHOW ME SOME STRAIN!"

"Dad, we can't"

"YOU'RE ALIVE AREN'T YOU!? TELL ME THAT YOU'RE ALIVE!"

"I'M ALIVE, DAD!" After yelling, my dad could only grin with stupidity etched on his face. Well, to our neighbors, I hope that they can still sleep from our loudness...

"Good! That's what I like to hear! Now then, I put some food in the refrigerator for you. Make sure you eat plenty, ya' hear!?" How can he just scream without a care in the world? Especially to his son who had been-wait, now that I think about it, why am I here instead of the hospital?

"Dad... why am I here instead of the hospital?" If he could lose that stupid grin on his face, then I would take this a whole more seriously...

"You were in the hospital... for about a good five days! After they had managed to remove the bullet from your wound, you just needed to recover with sleep, and here you are! I didn't like the idea of leaving my son to the evil of all evil called the hospital! Those white rooms are all for show to get you comfy until they ask you to roll up your sleeve for a needle!" Where was he going with this?

"So... you basically took me from the place that was supposed to treat me back to health?"

"And don't forget with their permission! Besides, I could take care of you better than them!" He always says that...

"Yeah," Other than me realizing that I wasn't in the hospital, there was another thing that bothered me... and it involves a certain idiot from trying to risk his life to save me. "Hey, dad... what about Shinzo-senpai and Aiko-sensei? Are... they ok?" For some reason, I couldn't help myself being worried a bit. I mean, did I really just kill myself to save people that ended up dead?

"Oh," His expression lessened, giving me the process of thinking that something bad had happened. "They're both good! That Shinzo kid ended up waking up before you, but he didn't remember that much of all that happened. It might be because he might've hit his head or something. And that teacher of yours is all right too!" Of course my dad plays with my emotions like this. But...

Shinzo-senpai doesn't remember anything that had happened? How could that even be possible? He didn't even take a blow to the head or anything else like that. Maybe... I'm thinking too much into this.

"Yeah... I'm glad they're okay. Say, what did you get to-" Before I could say anything else, I had felt his hand on my head, forcing it down a bit.

"Son... I heard that you risked your life for those students. If you hadn't done anything, then everyone else there would've been hurt or worse..." He started to rub my head a bit. Other than that, I could hear his voice shaking a bit.

"...I didn't want to allow them to get hurt for a mistake I did." It was true. If I had stayed with the group, maybe the people who were dead wouldn't be dead at all. I would've told them where the feather was, and that would be the end of that. And now... if I hadn't taken the feather and played with it... then maybe... Shinzo-senpai wouldn't have gotten hurt because of me. It... was his fault for doing something as stupid as that anyway...

"...Actions will go a long way, Haru. Because of what you did, you have a lot of people awaiting for your return. You're their hero..."

"...I didn't want to be a hero. I just... wanted to... I just wanted to..." I started to feel tears brewing in my eyes, wanting to burst out from the dam called my eyes.

"I know, Haru. I know what you're feeling.," He embraced me in a hug with me returning it. "I was going to lose you, ya'know? Did you know how worried I was when I heard that you were rushed to the hospital from a gunshot? I don't remember that much, but I was sure that I had been running on the street with cars about to hit me." His hug tightened.

If I was dead, then was I going to miss this?

"I can't let you see your old man cry like this, so try to be more careful on your trips, ya'hear?" While I was still in his hug, I looked to see a picture frame far away from my bed. With the tears clouding my vision, I ignored it this time, wanting to embrace the hug some more.

Would his life be easier if I was gone?

"And just so you know... hi, Alive, I'm dad."

...Heh.


	5. Life is Strange

"Oof!" Feeling something slap my back, I turned around to see a male student grinning at me.

"How's it hangin', Haru!?" I don't... know who this person is, nor do I care. I just wanted to know why he had to slap my back like that. And why is he saying my name as if we know each other!? I mean, isn't it rude enough to just do that to someone who isn't expecting it!?

"I'm... fine." After answering, I noticed that there were a bunch of students to form a group around me, making me feel a bit uncomfortable. So... this is how it's supposed to feel when you do something heroic.

"Is that Haru-kun?" A female voice called out.

"Our hero has arrived!" I can't stand listening to this, I just want to hurry and get to class now. Even if it was the next day after I had woken up, it becomes annoying enough to even go back to school for the days that I had missed out on, in which then piles more and more work on you! Shoving through some of the people, I ran to the school building, not wanting to deal with anyone in that group.

"Hey, wait, Haru! We gotta ask you some stuff!" I heard the same male voice call out to me, I didn't care about turning back and apologizing. I just wanted to get into the building and do this work that's been plaguing my mind since this morning.

But as I ran towards the building, I saw something move in a window of the second floor. I didn't see what or who it was as it felt like something wasn't actually there. Something like your mind playing tricks on-

"Oof!" Running into something, I fell on my rear.

"Haru-kun? Do you need some help?" Hearing a familiar voice, I looked up to see Shinzo-senpai looking down at me with a hand offered. I'm actually surprised that he didn't fall down from the amount of force I had in my speed.

"Shinzo-senpai? Oh, uh, sure." Taking his hand to lift me up, I stood back on my feet. Strange, since the last time I had touched Shinzo-senpai, I was having my reaction. Now, I wasn't even having the feeling.

"You okay? You look deep in thought." Cutting me from my thoughts, I waved my hand to reassure him.

"I'm fine, I was just... thinking." Something that bothered me is the fact that apparently, Shinzo-senpai doesn't remember anything from the trip. From what others are guessing, it's because of a blow to the head, but that couldn't possibly be it.

"Well, try to be more careful, okay? I know... that what had happened to us was weird, but try to not let that-"

"Hey, Shinzo-senpai," It was rude to cut him off, but in this case, I need to know if he actually remembers what happened. I clenched my fist, first restraining myself, but I let the question in my head out. "Do you... really not remember anything?" To my question, he was a bit taken back, but his strained face was trying to remember, but he let out a sigh.

"No. I don't remember. The last thing that I remember... was... looking at the portraits in the art room. I don't really remember going on the trip, so I'm sorry. I must've really hit my head too hard huh?" He scratched the back of his head jokingly, but I knew it wasn't a joke. This was a serious predicament. How can you be okay after risking your life for someone worthless? Joke it off like nothing happened!?

"Idiot." I muttered, something that he had actually heard.

"H-Huh? Is there something wrong?" Before he knew it, I had grabbed his collar and glared at him.

"You IDIOT! How dare you say that you don't remember!" I shouted at him. I heard a group of footsteps behind me, but I didn't care who was listening in on this. "You think it's all cool to joke and be giddy after risking your life for someone pathetic!? You think it's cool to do something like that without thinking!? You almost died, so show some damn worry for once!"

"H-Haru-kun, I..." I could tell he was confused. I was telling a person who doesn't remember anything, something like risking his life for someone else. What kind of idiot am I? I was the reason why he jumped out like that, so why am I lecturing him?

"Just... leave me alone." I walked past him, going inside the building without thinking about anything else in mind. I didn't care about the silent crowd behind me, and I didn't care about the shocked Shinzo-senpai.

-Holonatural-

Finally, classes were over, and I didn't have to deal with... that many people. As expected, nothing serious happened throughout the day of Monday school. Well, counting those groups of people who want to "get to know me better", I guess something out of normality happened. Throughout some of my classes, I kept having to deal with those groups! I mean, yes I saved lives but... Oh what am I thinking about!? I have no time to think about things like the students! Now, that didn't matter. Right now, all I could care about is to just get home and rest for the day... Wait, I forgot that I have to complete some missing things!

How am I supposed to relax when I still have some things to do!? Well, after doing some of the work, I guess I could just doodle in... my... sketch... I forgot about my sketchbook! If I remember correctly, I didn't see my book in my house. Did someone take it? No, they probably put in the art room, right? Yeah, I wouldn't expect one of their criminals to take my sketchbook for no reason.

Hm? Feeling my phone vibrate in my pocket, I pulled it out and unlocked it. It appears that I had gotten a message from someone in my notifications, so I should just check it out.

"Your Sketchbook Is In The Art Room." ~ N

Huh? First, who is this "N" person? And how did they get my phone number? The question is to figure out if I should trust this person. I could just walk back to the school since it's only three minutes away from where I'm at so... Or should I just wait til tomorrow? Well... there are still some teachers at the school, so if anything, I should be fine.

...And I really want my sketchbook.

-Holonatural-

"Hello? Is anybody here?" Before asking, I knocked on the door twice, trying to see if anyone is inside. After entering back into the school, I was able to talk to some of the faculty as to the reason why I'm back in the school, and I was lucky enough to be granted back in here.

...

It's deathly silent, so I guess no one is inside. I don't know who put the book inside there without me noticing, but I guess I can just-

"...k..." Did I just hear someone? And was it coming from inside the room? Hold on, hold on, what's going on in here? I was sure that I didn't hear anyone in the room before now, but why am I hearing things now? It can't be those rumors, right? N-No, that wouldn't be possible. Instead of just sitting here and being afraid, I should just walk in and see nobody in the room.

And so, I turned the knob and couldn't open the door...

Huh, I guess someone locked it.

Well, as this was a club room, it should make sense that the door is locked, so no one could get in. The janitor or the owner of the club probably had the key, so I should probably just wait til tomorrow for the book. I could just ask the janitor for the key, but I wouldn't want to be a bother to him.

Well, time to go I guess. I sadly wasted my time coming back here and didn't even think about the slightest possibility that the door would be locked. And now, it's going to take me some more time to get back home.

*Creak!*

I mean, why did I even think about the door being opened after school hours? And did I just hear the door open?

Looking back at the door, I noticed that the door was indeed opened for some reason. Was there... someone really inside the room? Could it be the owner of the room? Before I could ask myself another question, a book slid across the floor, finally stopping when it hit the other side where the window was at. After that, the door closed slowly, soon making a clicking sound, telling me that it was locked.

I was a bit frozen stiff, but after gulping, I went to the book that had slid across the floor and picked it up. Was this... mine? It certainly looks like mine, but the dried blood that covers the top of it was seriously chilling.

After opening the book to the first page, I could see my art on the book, so this has to be mine. I was a bit weirded out, but whoever was inside the room didn't want to be exposed to me for some reason. Skimming through the book, I had stopped at one page that was most notably different than normal. While the page was still white with my drawing on it, there was writing on the bottom right corner of the page saying: "Take care of yourself more" written in orange and black... pen?

"...Thanks." After muttering that at the door, I walked away from the room again, this time, not wanting to stop for anything else. But strangely enough, I felt like I was being watched from... everywhere. But still, I didn't stop to care.

But it's more strange when I felt something invisible tighten around me, almost as if I was being hugged.


	6. ...

It's been about a week since that instance from the art room. Since then, I've been still in the room, but I haven't had one of those occurrences during that time. The reason that I've been hanging around there is because no one wants to be in that room. Those rumors had gotten the students more shaken about a room than anything.

Well... Could I say that they're wrong?

I can say that it's haunted because I didn't see who was inside the room that gave me my book back, but that's not valid evidence. From the angle that I was in, I couldn't see anybody in the room, but it could be because of them not wanting to be seen. Whether if it's haunted or not, I was able to get my-

"Gah! H-hey, what was that for!?" Rubbing my head from the book that was thrown at me, I looked at Aiko-sensei with a glare, who was in return, glaring at me.

"It's rude to ignore the person that's giving you a lecture," With her long black hair, she was able to keep a bang covering the spot that she had gotten attacked. "How many times am I going to have to hear that you keep running in the hall and away from students?" A simple question that relied on a simple answer.

"Because I don't want to talk to them." To that, she pinched the bridge of her nose, not believing what I'm saying.

"Okay, have you ever thought that it's a natural feeling for someone to get to know the person that saved another's life?" I crossed my arms in distaste.

"It doesn't matter to me what I did, I just want to continue being alone. They just can't take the hint and continue to bother me." Suddenly, I was feeling my left ear get pulled. I wanted to scream in retaliation, but I restrained myself.

"Being alone like this is going to leave you into depression! And don't you think I haven't heard of the story that you got angry at Shinzo-kun for trying to save your life! You don't go and yell at the person who risked his life for you!" After each sentence, she pulled my ear harder and harder. I was still restraining, but the slither of a tear begged to differ.

"I-I didn't t-tell him to do that for me! He should've stayed in the back and let me handle the situation!"

"Handle it by dying!? Are you seriously losing your mind!? Do I need to ask your father to send you to a therapist!?"

"It didn't matter if I died! I was just fixing the situation that I was at fault at!" After pulling on my ear, she grabbed the top of my head and began to squeeze hard...

"You. Little. Brat! How about you think more about your own life some more and start to live a little! I gave you the chance of making a new friend, but you went and ruined it! Now, if you want to fix situations with your life, how about you fix this situation and apologize to the people who've been wanting to talk to you, and makeup with Shinzo-kun!" What is the strength of this woman!?

"That was-" As I tried to lift my head, she only applied pressure and pushed it back down.

"I don't want to hear any excuses, Haru-kun. I only want to see and hear the progress of you doing what I asked you to do. You have only three school days to fix this, or I will be the one to make sure you attend extra lessons!" As she shoved me into the direction of the door to leave, I stopped at the knob before I turned it.

"Before I do anything... I need to know something, Aiko-senpai." Turning to her, I can still see her disappointed glare at me.

"What?" Her voice wasn't as friendly as it was to other students, but I was still used to it.

"Could it be true that the art room is haunted or something?" Hearing me, she chuckled a bit as if I was insane.

"What, listening to childish rumors now?" I could feel myself deflate from her words, but that doesn't matter right now.

"No, it's just... Has there been any records of someone else owning the key to the art room?" She stared at me with a straight face and then smiled.

"Trying to be a detective, eh?" How does this correlate to being a detective? I'm more than enough spooked out than anything. "Yes, there has been a record that records who owns what for specific art clubs. My question to you is to know why you're so interested. Before this, you had no reason to believe in such rumors." She stood up and began to walk to me.

"Well, experience can change a person, especially for someone who was on the line to heaven." I wished she chuckled, but she only instead opened the door behind me.

"Go along, Haru-kun, it's better that you hurry and get home. We both have things to do, and it doesn't involve speaking about silly rumors." As I tried to get something from out of my mouth, she pushed me out of her office and closed the door.

Well, looks like I couldn't get any answers.

-Holonatural-

Even if it was after school hours, I still decided to go back to the art room if the person was actually still there. It was that I was super interested in supernatural things like ghosts, I just needed to know who was in there. One thing that I hate is to not know why things happened, so I just have to know. Besides... With my sketchbook in my hand, I opened to the pages where I had gotten notes written on them.

They were both written in the same style.

So my thought on Aiko-sensei being the one who wrote in it is clearly wrong. The best shot I have is to know the person inside the room.

After stopping at the front of the door, I twisted the knob, seeing if the door was locked this time. And for a surprise, it wasn't. Opening the door, I entered the room to see that it was completely empty again. There was nothing around but the canvas stand that Shinzo-senpai skimmed through.

Since there's nothing to do around here, I flipped one the sheets to see the first drawing that was drawn on the sheet, which was nothing but an ordinary tree. Now that I think about it, I remember Shinzo-senpai acting weird while he was skimming through this stuff.

And so, skimming through the unseemingly large amounts of sheets of paper, I was able to recognize that the person who drew these things are... talented at best. I didn't expect someone to just leave some of these pieces of artwork around and not take them home for proudness.

Trees, winter, fall, summer, grass, leaves, people, sketches... All of them were drawn by someone talented. How could this even freak out Shinzo-senpai? Flipping the sheet again to see the next image, I started to see something a bit unrecognizable. It was an image of a person, a tree, or anything theme related.

It was just a stroke of black paint.

Flipping it up again, the next image was an eye of some sort. It looked feline at best, but it was an eye. Flipping it some more, the next few images were characters that weren't completed. Strange enough, one of them looked like a classmate I have, but I couldn't know for sure. The big noticeable difference is the huge eye he had on his forehead. That's what all the characters were shown to have had on their foreheads. It was... creepy.

The next one was another black stroke of paint, and the next one was another black stroke of paint. Strange, why are artworks beginning to be more stranger? But when I turned to the next one, I froze.

There, on the sheet of paper, was someone sitting in a room that appeared to be an art room, and was staring outside the window as if he was thinking to himself. As I flipped to the next image, it looked to be as if the character had moved positions. It was a flip-note kind of drawing. As I began to flip the pages faster, I could see the process of the character beginning to move to a desk and doodle on his sketchbook. It was a simple drawing process from the creator, but at the last page of sheets, the character turned his head as if it was looking straight at me.

I backed away from the paper and began to rub my eyes to see if I had gone crazy. And as it turns out, I wasn't.

The character is Haru-kun. And I was the character.

I felt someone watching me from somewhere, so I looked around the room to see where I was getting this feeling, but I couldn't find it in the room. Now, I turned to my right to see a brief of an instance of eyes moving away from my sights. I wasn't able to see who it was as it was too fast to keep a track on it.

I... I need to get out of here!

But before I could do anything, I heard something soft hit the ground. Turning to the direction of the sheets, there were a couple of pieces of paper on the floor. Walking to them to see what they were, I felt as if I wanted to puke.

They were instances of me in class and walking to different areas on the school grounds.

Someone is stalking me.

-Holonatural-

As soon as I got home, I laid down on my bed with my uniform still on. On the way here, I felt as though my entire body was weak. People looked at me as if I was drunk but I paid them no mind at all. This... feeling of being watched by someone you don't know frightens me. It was something that I don't want to feel again.

*Bark!* Hearing a dog bark, I raised my head slowly in reaction. I don't remember hearing one of my neighbors owning a pet. Well, maybe they just got one today. Right now, I just need to sleep this-

*Bark!* Okay, the dog might be actually a little too happy to be connected with my neighbors. If only I didn't hear the dog as if they were right outside my window.

*Bark!*

...As I got up to my window, I didn't see any dog at my window, which would be strange as I'm on the second floor of my house, but regardless, I had sworn I had heard it over here. Looking down, I saw some sort of card on the window, as if it got stuck on it because of the wind. Opening my window, I grabbed the card that appeared to be brown of some sort and read it:

'Detective Watson!' They were the only words on the card, but I didn't think too much into it. As I lowered the card from my sights, I could see a... dog wagging its tail in the distance and ran off. It was a bit darker outside, so I couldn't see that well.

"I... really need some sleep..." Putting the card onto my dresser, I forced my body onto the soft comfort of my bed and closed my eyes. I really need to forget about what happened today.

-Holonatural-

Feeling something pat on my cheek, I opened my eyes a bit to see my dad dressed and ready to go somewhere. I was still sleepy, so I couldn't make out what he was wearing.

"Hey, Haru! I know you're still sleepy and today's Saturday, but I'm just telling ya' that I won't be back till tomorrow morning! Rest up and enjoy your free day!" He yelled out joyously, before running out of my room.

"Mhm..." I responded, closing my eyes again.

Feeling something pat on my cheek but quicker, I ignored it. Why is my dad being so annoying today? I thought he had to go somewhere. I ignored the patting and turned on my bed to show my dad that I don't want to be bothered.

"Prepare yourself!" As I heard what appeared to be a feminine voice, I began to open my eyes in realization that someone was-

"OOF!" As I felt a huge amount of pressure on my stomach, I forced myself to wake up, only to see golden hair, a brown cap, a female, and sleep in her eyes.

"You have some nerve letting a girl wait for you!" She puffed out her cheeks.

"...AHHHHHHHHH!"


	8. The Rabbit-Hole Begins

"Out! Whoever you are, get out of my house!" Getting out of my bed, I ran into the opposite side of the room and screamed at the intruder. How did she even get inside my house!?

"Calm down, calm down, I'm not here to rob you or anything!" Signaling me to keep my voice down, I glared at her for a second before thinking about it.

"I don't care whatever you're here for, I want you out of my house!" I could just call the cops and then let them handle it, but if she knows about it, then she'll just run away.

"It's not like I had that much of a choice! You didn't follow Bubba, so I had to be the one to come find you! Keep your voice down, too! You don't know who could be listening in! I have important information that needs to be discussed!" Keeping her voice below screaming level, she walked over to me and pouted.

"And that involves breaking into my house!?" I had managed to keep my voice down, but I can't promise to not scream out again.

"W-Well, no... but who knows if you were going to try to find me the next day- I mean today! If you would've followed Bubba, then we wouldn't be in this situation! You will have time to think about your answer and I would be sleeping right now!" With each sentence, she poked me in the chest with anger clearly shown on her face.

"D-Did you really think I would sneak out of my house in the middle of the night and follow a dog? How stupid do you think I am!?" The poking eventually went to my forehead.

"Pretty stupid! Other than that, I lost sleep because of you!" It didn't matter what I was feeling right now, I grabbed her hand to make her stop.

"I don't care about your sleep! I care about mine, and I wouldn't want to waste mine by walking out in the middle of the night!" I glared at her, and to that she returned the glare with sleep still under eyes.

"I would've spoken to you for about twenty minutes! You know what, nevermind. If you're maintaining this conversation with me, then you're probably interested in why I'm here, right?" What kind of idiot does she take me for!?

"Oh, please state the more obvious questions!" Receiving a chop to my head, I moved back a bit. It didn't hurt, but it was too sudden. "H-Hey! What was that for!" Before I knew it, she was standing in front of my dresser, looking at the sketchbook that I had just got back recently.

"Hm..." Taking out a magnifying glass that was attached to her leg-harness-belt-or-whatever-it's-called, and began looking through the things that were on my dresser. After I saw that she picked up my sketchbook, I quickly got up and ran over to her and took it from her hands.

"Hey! You can't just barge into someone's house and look through people's things!" Upon talking to her, she rubbed her chin with her index finger and thumb. For some reason, she held her interest at my sketchbook and continued to look at it in wonder. "Why the hell are you ignoring me!?"

"I see. So you're more involved than I anticipated." Bringing up her magnifying glass and pointed it at me, I could see that it was starting to glow. "I should thank you, though, you saved my bacon there." What was she even talking about?

"What do you mean by "involved"? What do you even know about me?" She chuckled.

"Sad to say, you really have no idea what you're involved with, do you? Well, I wouldn't expect a highschooler such as yourself to know." Is she seriously saying that I'm oblivious because I'm in school?

"You don't look that much different than a highschooler yourself. How about you start explaining to me why you're here so I can call the cops."

"...Well, you won't be after I'm done talking to you." She smirked at me, acting as if the information that I would learn wouldn't help the police find her. "Put your book on the counter and come here and see this." I was reluctant at first, but to understand what she's doing here, I had to do what she says. Placing it on my counter, I walked back to the girl and crossed my arms in seriousness.

"Okay, what do you want?" With her other arm taking my arm, which caused the reaction to happen again, she forced me to see through her magnifying glass as it was motioned above my sketchbook. "What the..." Strangely enough, when I peered through it, my sketchbook was letting out an ominous purple hue. It was as if the book was smoking for some reason.

"It's a trap to ordinary people such as myself. Since you stopped me from opening the book, the trap didn't activate and all is well." After showing me, she put the magnifying glass away and looked at me smugly. "But... for some reason, you own this sketchbook that so happens to be a trap to ordinary people. And judging by the dumbfounded look on your face, you probably don't know why you have it either."

"..." After picking up the book and opening it, nothing happened. As I stared at her with a serious glance, I closed it back up again. "Do you really think I can trust your-"

"-My words? Or perhaps could it be that you think that the magnifying glass has been tampered with to show some crazy effects?"

...

A brief silence had been bestowed between us, with neither of us wanting to speak up. I was glaring, and she was smirking.

"Amelia Watson." She let out her hand for me to shake.

"...Who are you really?" I let out, even before I thought about touching her. She started to giggle a bit before sitting down on my bed.

"I'm a detective, don't you see? And as my job as a detective, it's my job to look for things that are interesting!" Her attire was a bit similar to a detective, but I couldn't trust that.

"And what do you mean by "interesting"?" Upon asking that, she only smiled.

"For someone who has been killed recently, it makes sense that you're careful around people." What!? I moved back a bit and became nervous around her. There's... no way she would have possibly known about me dying. Unless...

"Are you one of those criminals? And if so-" I had been cut off from her sudden outburst of laughter. What could possibly be so funny?

"I already told you that I'm a detective! Do you have some kind of hearing problem!?" She continued her laughter, but I wasn't laughing in the slightest. If anything, I was clearly seen in fear.

"...How did you know that I was killed?" At that, she stopped and looked at me with a smirk. Suddenly pulling out an envelope from behind her, she showed it out to me.

"This is an envelope that was sent by the shrine maiden, Sakura Miko. She had contacted me in worries of your wellbeing since the events that had transpired. She knew about you keeping your life because of the Phoenix's Feather, so she wanted to relay a message to you in regards to what happened after you died. You never knew what happened to those criminals, did you?"

She knows a lot more than she appears.

"No, I don't." I balled up my fist in anxiety.

"Well, basically, they ran away after noticing that you had used the feather upon your death. Other than that, they ran off and disappeared without a trace." They... just opted and left? Were they only after the feather then?

"...They couldn't have been only there for the feather, right? What else were they after?" She shrugged her shoulders in response.

"Who knows? However... I did hear about the story of an important book being stolen from the same area, too. What kind of book you may ask? Well, it's a quite powerful book. It's a book that leads all the way back to beings that existed way before us, actually. The book that summons supernatural evils, the book that holds magical spells to curse... It is quite an interesting book, if I do say so myself."

"And...? What does this have to do with me?" Getting up from off my bed, she walked over to me and looked at me with her magnifying glass again.

"I want to know more about you, my good sir. There are no other books in the world that are able to use a curse such as that one on your book, Haru. Now then, how about you tell me where you got the book?"

"...From my school. I didn't see who it was, but... I had been given the book back to me after I checked the art room in my school." To say that she was getting too close was an understatement.

"Your school, eh? Now then, allow me to introduce my latest deal to you, Haru. I'll make it short, so listen carefully; there are beings that exist in this world that are surely supernatural. What I need from you is your assistance in finding these beings and helping them live a life that's without violence."

"You want my help in giving these supernatural people a good chance at life? No thanks, I think I'm good. You can kindly leave my house now." After opening my door for her to leave, she still stood there with a smile.

"Well, I guess you won't be interested in wanting to know what happens if these supernatural beings aren't maintained, correct?"

"Correct, I don't care what happens to them. Now, can you please leave?"

"Even if it will eventually lead to the destruction of the world?" Before I could open my mouth, I thought about her words.

"What do you mean by that?" I asked, getting a more serious face. Still, she finds it alright to keep her smile at me.

"Earth won't be the same again if they aren't accustomed to our ways of living, Haru. Violence is treated with violence, and you know that very much. If we don't find them, eventually, the people will and it won't be pretty. I'm trusting you to this task with me because you already met someone with enough power to destroy the world themselves if they wanted to. Now, are you in or out, Haru?" With her hand extended out again, I stared at it before staring back at her smile.

For some reason, I thought back to that girl with the wolf-like features that I had met.

'"I'll be seeing you."'

The owner of the Phoenix's Feather, Kiara-san.

'"I'm going to make sure that you'll live the best life you've ever had!'"

The reaper who wants to kill me, Calliope-san.

'"I'm going to make sure I send him to the next world!'"

And even the mysterious person from the art room.

"...How many are there?"

"Huh?"

"How many of those beings exist in the world?" There have only been four that I had been in contact with. If anything, it's safe to assume that there's going to be more that's going to drag me into this situation of life and death again. But... I'm immortal, so I can't be afraid of death anymore, right?

"...Before we do anything, we're going to have to meet with Sakura Miko again to explain more of the details. She may be a shrine maiden, but she knows more about the supernatural than me, you know."

"We have to go to Sakura-chan? I don't have a car, so how are we going to get there?" She smugly pounded on her chest.

"Oh, I have my ways. Just think of them as a detour through the city. But anyhoo, are you sure you want to be part of this? Those guys know your face, so if we encounter them again, things can seriously get messy. Don't you value your life?" I've heard that saying so many times.

'It's not your fault, Haru.'

"I don't, so remember that. For what I've done, I don't deserve a second chance in life. But I'm not going to let other people suffer because I decided to say no at this opportunity. I shouldn't even care about these people, but it won't sit right in my stomach. Not only would I be at fault for death, but if I get more involved with other beings, then I wouldn't know what to do about them."

"A chance for redemption, perhaps?" She smirked at me, but my lips decided to twitch upwards. For some reason, it felt like the right thing to do to get involved in this. If I had chosen to continue my normal life, I would still be brought into this world without my consent. That's the way life is going to treat me for being the cause of death. It won't leave me alone until I'm actually dead.

"No, I just don't want to see people die again."

And it's safe to say that until Calliope-san finds a way to kill me, I'm stuck inside this rabbit-hole.


	9. Sakura Miko

"Out! Whoever you are, get out of my house!" Getting out of my bed, I ran into the opposite side of the room and screamed at the intruder. How did she even get inside my house!?

"Calm down, calm down, I'm not here to rob you or anything!" Signaling me to keep my voice down, I glared at her for a second before thinking about it.

"I don't care whatever you're here for, I want you out of my house!" I could just call the cops and then let them handle it, but if she knows about it, then she'll just run away.

"It's not like I had that much of a choice! You didn't follow Bubba, so I had to be the one to come find you! Keep your voice down, too! You don't know who could be listening in! I have important information that needs to be discussed!" Keeping her voice below screaming level, she walked over to me and pouted.

"And that involves breaking into my house!?" I had managed to keep my voice down, but I can't promise to not scream out again.

"W-Well, no... but who knows if you were going to try to find me the next day- I mean today! If you would've followed Bubba, then we wouldn't be in this situation! You will have time to think about your answer and I would be sleeping right now!" With each sentence, she poked me in the chest with anger clearly shown on her face.

"D-Did you really think I would sneak out of my house in the middle of the night and follow a dog? How stupid do you think I am!?" The poking eventually went to my forehead.

"Pretty stupid! Other than that, I lost sleep because of you!" It didn't matter what I was feeling right now, I grabbed her hand to make her stop.

"I don't care about your sleep! I care about mine, and I wouldn't want to waste mine by walking out in the middle of the night!" I glared at her, and to that she returned the glare with sleep still under eyes.

"I would've spoken to you for about twenty minutes! You know what, nevermind. If you're maintaining this conversation with me, then you're probably interested in why I'm here, right?" What kind of idiot does she take me for!?

"Oh, please state the more obvious questions!" Receiving a chop to my head, I moved back a bit. It didn't hurt, but it was too sudden. "H-Hey! What was that for!" Before I knew it, she was standing in front of my dresser, looking at the sketchbook that I had just got back recently.

"Hm..." Taking out a magnifying glass that was attached to her leg-harness-belt-or-whatever-it's-called, and began looking through the things that were on my dresser. After I saw that she picked up my sketchbook, I quickly got up and ran over to her and took it from her hands.

"Hey! You can't just barge into someone's house and look through people's things!" Upon talking to her, she rubbed her chin with her index finger and thumb. For some reason, she held her interest at my sketchbook and continued to look at it in wonder. "Why the hell are you ignoring me!?"

"I see. So you're more involved than I anticipated." Bringing up her magnifying glass and pointed it at me, I could see that it was starting to glow. "I should thank you, though, you saved my bacon there." What was she even talking about?

"What do you mean by "involved"? What do you even know about me?" She chuckled.

"Sad to say, you really have no idea what you're involved with, do you? Well, I wouldn't expect a high schooler such as yourself to know." Is she seriously saying that I'm oblivious because I'm in school?

"You don't look that much different than a high schooler yourself. How about you start explaining to me why you're here so I can call the cops."

"...Well, you won't be after I'm done talking to you." She smirked at me, acting as if the information that I would learn wouldn't help the police find her. "Put your book on the counter and come here and see this." I was reluctant at first, but to understand what she's doing here, I had to do what she says. Placing it on my counter, I walked back to the girl and crossed my arms in seriousness.

"Okay, what do you want?" With her other arm taking my arm, which caused the reaction to happen again, she forced me to see through her magnifying glass as it was motioned above my sketchbook. "What the..." Strangely enough, when I peered through it, my sketchbook was letting out an ominous purple hue. It was as if the book was smoking for some reason.

"It's a trap to ordinary people such as myself. Since you stopped me from opening the book, the trap didn't activate and all is well." After showing me, she put the magnifying glass away and looked at me smugly. "But... for some reason, you own this sketchbook that so happens to be a trap to ordinary people. And judging by the dumbfounded look on your face, you probably don't know why you have it either."

"..." After picking up the book and opening it, nothing happened. As I stared at her with a serious glance, I closed it back up again. "Do you really think I can trust your-"

"-My words? Or perhaps could it be that you think that the magnifying glass has been tampered with to show some crazy effects?"

...

A brief silence had been bestowed between us, with neither of us wanting to speak up. I was glaring, and she was smirking.

"Amelia Watson." She let out her hand for me to shake.

"...Who are you really?" I let out, even before I thought about touching her. She started to giggle a bit before sitting down on my bed.

"I'm a detective, don't you see? And as my job as a detective, it's my job to look for things that are interesting!" Her attire was a bit similar to a detective, but I couldn't trust that.

"And what do you mean by "interesting"?" Upon asking that, she only smiled.

"For someone who has been killed recently, it makes sense that you're careful around people." What!? I moved back a bit and became nervous around her. There's... no way she would have possibly known about me dying. Unless...

"Are you one of those criminals? And if so-" I had been cut off from her sudden outburst of laughter. What could possibly be so funny?

"I already told you that I'm a detective! Do you have some kind of hearing problem!?" She continued her laughter, but I wasn't laughing in the slightest. If anything, I was clearly seen in fear.

"...How did you know that I was killed?" At that, she stopped and looked at me with a smirk. Suddenly pulling out an envelope from behind her, she showed it out to me.

"This is an envelope that was sent by the shrine maiden, Sakura Miko. She had contacted me in worries of your wellbeing since the events that had transpired. She knew about you keeping your life because of the Phoenix's Feather, so she wanted to relay a message to you in regards to what happened after you died. You never knew what happened to those criminals, did you?"

She knows a lot more than she appears.

"No, I don't." I balled up my fist in anxiety.

"Well, basically, they ran away after noticing that you had used the feather upon your death. Other than that, they ran off and disappeared without a trace." They... just opted and left? Were they only after the feather then?

"...They couldn't have been only there for the feather, right? What else were they after?" She shrugged her shoulders in response.

"Who knows? However... I did hear about the story of an important book being stolen from the same area, too. What kind of book you may ask? Well, it's a quite powerful book. It's a book that leads all the way back to beings that existed way before us, actually. The book that summons supernatural evils, the book that holds magical spells to curse... It is quite an interesting book, if I do say so myself."

"And...? What does this have to do with me?" Getting up from off my bed, she walked over to me and looked at me with her magnifying glass again.

"I want to know more about you, my good sir. There are no other books in the world that are able to use a curse such as that one on your book, Haru. Now then, how about you tell me where you got the book?"

"...From my school. I didn't see who it was, but... I had been given the book back to me after I checked the art room in my school." To say that she was getting too close was an understatement.

"Your school, eh? Now then, allow me to introduce my latest deal to you, Haru. I'll make it short, so listen carefully; there are beings that exist in this world that are surely supernatural. What I need from you is your assistance in finding these beings and helping them live a life that's without violence."

"You want my help in giving these supernatural people a good chance at life? No thanks, I think I'm good. You can kindly leave my house now." After opening my door for her to leave, she still stood there with a smile.

"Well, I guess you won't be interested in wanting to know what happens if these supernatural beings aren't maintained, correct?"

"Correct, I don't care what happens to them. Now, can you please leave?"

"Even if it will eventually lead to the destruction of the world?" Before I could open my mouth, I thought about her words.

"What do you mean by that?" I asked, getting a more serious face. Still, she finds it alright to keep her smile at me.

"Earth won't be the same again if they aren't accustomed to our ways of living, Haru. Violence is treated with violence, and you know that very much. If we don't find them, eventually, the people will and it won't be pretty. I'm trusting you to this task with me because you already met someone with enough power to destroy the world themselves if they wanted to. Now, are you in or out, Haru?" With her hand extended out again, I stared at it before staring back at her smile.

For some reason, I thought back to that girl with the wolf-like features that I had met.

'"I'll be seeing you."'

The owner of the Phoenix's Feather, Kiara-san.

'"I'm going to make sure that you'll live the best life you've ever had!'"

The reaper who wants to kill me, Calliope-san.

'"I'm going to make sure I send him to the next world!'"

And even the mysterious person from the art room.

"...How many are there?"

"Huh?"

"How many of those beings exist in the world?" There have only been four that I had been in contact with. If anything, it's safe to assume that there's going to be more that's going to drag me into this situation of life and death again. But... I'm immortal, so I can't be afraid of death anymore, right?

"...Before we do anything, we're going to have to meet with Sakura Miko again to explain more of the details. She may be a shrine maiden, but she knows more about the supernatural than me, you know."

"We have to go to Sakura-chan? I don't have a car, so how are we going to get there?" She smugly pounded on her chest.

"Oh, I have my ways. Just think of them as a detour through the city. But anyhoo, are you sure you want to be part of this? Those guys know your face, so if we encounter them again, things can seriously get messy. Don't you value your life?" I've heard that saying so many times.

'It's not your fault, Haru.'

"I don't, so remember that. For what I've done, I don't deserve a second chance in life. But I'm not going to let other people suffer because I decided to say no at this opportunity. I shouldn't even care about these people, but it won't sit right in my stomach. Not only would I be at fault for death, but if I get more involved with other beings, then I wouldn't know what to do about them."

"A chance for redemption, perhaps?" She smirked at me, but my lips decided to twitch upwards. For some reason, it felt like the right thing to do to get involved in this. If I had chosen to continue my normal life, I would still be brought into this world without my consent. That's the way life is going to treat me for being the cause of death. It won't leave me alone until I'm actually dead.

"No, I just don't want to see people die again."

And it's safe to say that until Calliope-san finds a way to kill me, I'm stuck inside this rabbit-hole.


	10. Getting the book(?)

"Your house is so neat, Haru! You're making me a bit jealous!" Kiara-san was occupied touching the things on my dresser, while Amelia-chan continued to tap on her phone next to me and proceeded to not have a care in the world.

"Did we seriously have to meet in my house?" It was already three in the afternoon, so we're going to have to think of a way to plan our next action before my dad arrived back home. But before I can think of a plan...

"Sorry~! As much as I would like to recommend my house for talking, I'm not... that good at keeping things nice and tight." When you apologize like that, it makes it sound like you're not apologizing with much heart...

"...Just stop touching my things and just sit down already. I have to think of something quick if I'm going to-"

"That's where I'm going to stop you there, Haru! While I'll appreciate the approval of you letting me inside your house," I didn't, you just carried me over your shoulder as I pointed the way to my house. "I cannot approve of anything dangerous happening on my watch!" Kiara's eyes quite literally burned with determination as she sat on my bed.

"Kiara-chan, we're not doing-"

"I'm going to have to stop you there again, Haru! While I appreciate the kind formalities, I cannot approve the use of it when you're speaking to me!" I crossed my arms in annoyance. What kind of woman is she?!

"Then? You want me to address you with no formalities? You do know that this suggestion is more for people that know each other?" Even with that in mind, she still smiles.

"And? For me, I don't really care about those formalities! You can just call me by name, 'Kiara', instead of 'Kiara-chan!'"

"I never called you Kiara-chan before."

"You didn't? Hm, I might be remembering things differently, then." Speaking about memory, I was more confused on the fact that she didn't recognize me when we first met eyes. It really felt like she didn't recognize me...

"Alright, now that I'm done, we can finally get into--wait, who's this woman?" Amelia-chan? Are you... Are you being serious right now? How... can you even not notice someone as annoying as her?!

"Oh~! I haven't introduced myself yet! My name is Kiara! You don't have to address me with any formalities like '-san' or whatever, because I'm not that old! I'm only... I think I'm a lot older than I look. Huh, it must've been a long time since I-"

"It's fine, I get what you mean. Well then, Kiara, might I ask what you're doing inside of--wait, when did we go inside your house, Haru?" Amelia-chan? Amelia-chan?! Do you have no sense of awareness on that phone of yours?! We could've let in a criminal in my house and she wouldn't have known!

"...Can we please hurry this up? We know where the book is, but how are we going to get it, if the school is closed today?" As I turned to Amelia-chan, I saw that in the corner of my eye, Kiara-san tilted her head in confusion.

"Well, we're just going to have to sneak in then! It's a regular school, so the security can't be that bad!" Amelia-chan started to grin at the idea.

"Wait a-"

"Okay, but what if the door to the art room is locked? Then, I'm going to have to find the key in order to open the door."

"You already answered your own question, Haru." She smirked.

"I was hoping for you to give me another way inside the room without the key, but I can already see that you're out of ideas quickly." I didn't mean for that to be a bit offensive, but I can't take back my words.

"Hey! You can't judge a detective so quickly! This is our first operation and you're already assuming that I'm worthless!"

"I'm not assuming that you're worthless. Unless you get off that phone of yours when you have no sense of awareness, then maybe you're a bit useless." And sadly, I'm adding more fuel to the fire.

"Okay, that's enough you two," Before Amelia-chan was able to speak, Kiara-san had gotten between the two of us with disappointment clearly expressed. "I might not know how close you two are, but you shouldn't be fighting! All that's coming from this is a ruined connection between the two of you, so stop it!" Hearing her, I backed away a bit.

"...Sorry." I heard Amelia-chan voice out, but wasn't as aggressive as she spoke a few seconds ago. It was clearly my fault for starting this up, so she shouldn't apologize for something I did.

"It wasn't your fault, Haru."

"...I was the one who started it, so it's fine if you hate me for it. Now that we are done with this, can we please hurry this up?" I was becoming a bit anxious and annoyed because of how stupid this was. We're breaking and entering a school that can very much get me into big trouble. And while doing this, we have to do this before my dad gets back, so now I'm even more pressured.

"Haru, calm down, you need to not let anger control you," When I heard Kiara-san's voice, I noticed that I had been clenching my fist in frustration. I need to... calm myself right now. "And finally, I cannot let you go do this, Haru." I figured that the option of stopping me was on her plate.

"Wait, who are you to tell him what he-" Turning to Amelia-chan, Kiara-san closed her eyes. Before opening them to show determination once again.

"I am the phoenix that promised him that I will not allow him to kill himself. I'm sorry to cancel your cool operation, but you have to know that I am not the kind of person to break a promise. Amelia, I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to ask you to go back home." I could escape from out the window, but I don't think that Kiara-san wouldn't be fast enough to stop me.

"Oh, so you're the creator of Phoenix's Feather, huh? As much as I would like to know more about you, I can't afford to risk the lives on this planet because of your stupid promise." She grinned before walking past her to stand at my side.

"It's not a stupid promise! Not only do I have to protect him from himself, I have to protect him for Calli as well! She's a grim reaper that's focused on killing him." Getting a nudge on my side, I looked at Amelia-chan, who was looking at me with a smirk.

"Wow, Haru, I didn't think of you to be a ladies man! Working with a brilliant and hot detective such as myself, getting protection from a phoenix, and getting chased by a grim reaper? Any other guy would be dreaming of this kind of situation!" Ha. Ha. I can see that you have jokes about things that can desperately change my life, Amelia-chan.

"...I'm pretty sure that they don't think about this sort of thing. Whoever does, they might as well be crazy." I spoke to her as she turned her smirk to Kiara-san, who wasn't showing any signs of budging her resolve.

"I have my reasons, Kiara, and you have your own. We're not going to stop just because you told us to stop." With a newly formed grin, I could only question why on Earth she looks so sure of herself.

"I see. Then, I'm afraid that I'm going to have to stop you with everything I have," Standing at the door, she spread her arms out in a protective way to stop anyone from leaving. With the strength and speed that she has, I doubt that I would be able to do anything. Would I have to wait until Monday?

"Well, that's good to know." As Amelia-chan reached down to grab her clock accessory, she clicked the button that was sticking out of it. After doing so, she grabbed my shoulder.

And for whatever reason, I feel dizzy.

And suddenly, the color of the world had been drained.

"Alright then, Haru, exit out the window and get to the school. Sadly, you're going to have to do this operation alone, so good luck." After walking to my bed, she laid on it and pulled her phone out.

"Wait, what's going on?! Why is the-"

"I don't have that much time, Haru. Keeping it easy, I stopped time. But I can't keep this up because the clock is practically draining me. Don't worry, I'm not going to get killed, I'm just going to end up falling asleep. And if you notice time coming back, then I'm already asleep. Get it? Now get going."

"...I owe you one." Opening my window, I carefully went through and tried to angle myself to land for the bushes that were beneath me. After falling, I managed to hurt my leg a bit, but I continued onward to the school.

I can't stop from this given opportunity.

-Holonatural-

After arriving at the school, I took a second to catch my breath from the running it took to get here. Luckily, Amelia-chan was still awake, so I still have enough time to enter the school and do whatever I need. Seriously, I owe her one.

"Now, how can I enter?" Speaking to myself, I looked at the front of the school that was fully protected by gates so no one can get through. Hm, I might be able to climb past the gate, but I'm going to need some sort of height boost.

These gates are too high for me to climb... but could the back have the same height?

Moving around to the back of the school, I noticed that the gate wasn't as high as it was in the front. But I still had nothing to use to climb the gate. Well... I guess I could try to use the patterns in the gate as an advantage. The circle patterns could be beneficial for my feet in the need of balance.

Putting my first foot on one of the circle patterns, I jumped up a bit to reach for the top of the gate with my hand, and I was able to do just that. Now I would just need to use my feet and push myself over the gate!

As my right foot touches the next pattern, I repeated the action with my left and then right until I knew I could go over the gate.

"Hah!" Pulling myself to the top of the gate, I was able to go over the gate without any problems. And now that I'm past the gate, all I have to do is enter through the cafeteria and go up the stairs that are luckily next to it.

It wasn't hard to enter the cafeteria as there weren't any obstacles to get to it. Now, going up the stairs, the path to the art room isn't that far away.

-Holonatural-

Reaching the room, I looked inside to see if there were anyone inside, and sad to say that it wasn't. Before I turned the knob, I noticed that the golden color of the knob was shown. Moving away from the door, I noticed that the color of the world was slowly returning to how it was naturally. Great, Amelia-chan's almost asleep!

Being quick, I turned the knob and opened the door.

Weird enough, the door wasn't locked even if it wasn't--

"Crap!" Turning to my right, I looked to see a man with a janitor's outfit cleaning the room. Well, he was frozen, but since the color of the world was slowly coming back, I need to hurry and find the book! As I searched through the room as quick as I could, I had no sign of the book.

What was the book even supposed to look like?!

I don't have time--

'Mhnmmm!'

Before I could think about anything else, the sound of a desk moving was heard in the room. The janitor was still frozen, but not for long. Then, who in the world made the noise?

'Mhnmmm!'

Walking to the desk that was moving, I didn't see anyone next to it, so... was this some sort of haunting? I don't have time for this, I need to hurry out of the school and get back to the house before anyone finds me!

"Heep!" Hearing this... sound, I looked down at my foot to find some sort of... black thing with eyes and a mouth staring up at me. I would like to scream, but I wouldn't want to risk it. Besides, this thing looks a bit cute to be scary.

"Are you... the thing that's been doing things inside this room?" To my question, it nodded its head or body fast. "Then... you're the thing that owns the book, right?" To that question, it shook its head fast. It was able to understand me, so I should probably take this thing with me. We were wrong about the book being in here, so this thing is the best thing we have to find the book. I grabbed the small creature and put it in my pocket.

Now, I just need to go back home.


	11. Surprise Visit

"...No one's home?" I had entered my house just at the right time before my dad came home. He's usually around six, and it's half past four. Alright, now that I'm alone, I can finally take out this... thing out of my pocket and figure out what it is. The person that was supposed to be in the art room ended up being a creature. I'd rather choose to not believe something from a weird creature, but it's the only lead I have to finding out where this book is located.

"Alright, you... thing, is there anything that you can tell me that leads to a certain book that creates weird spells that are dangerous to normal people?" Bringing the creature out, I stared at its confused and innocent look in its eyes. "I guess... not?" And it shook its head.

Great, isn't this all peachy?

Bringing the thing up to my room, I sat on my bed and continued to stare at the small creature for some time while it smiled comfortably. What is up with this thing? Was this seriously the thing that put a curse in my book?

"Okay, you can understand me, but I can't understand you. Is there... some sort of way for us to communicate with one another? Like writing? Can you..." Well, judging by the size of the creature, I can doubt it can even put up a pencil.

"Hm, maybe..." Taking a glance at my sketch book, I have the thought about what the creature can use in order to communicate with something like the book. If it was able to curse the book, then would it be able to use magic for like... communication? Getting the book, I opened it in front of it and pointed to a blank page.

"Alright, Little Guy, I'm going to need to see if you communicate with me or not. Can you write in this book with your... magic or anything?" Little Guy only stared at the blank page in wonder. Then, after nodding its head very fast, he stared at the page for a second, before something purple appeared in thin air. As I stared at this... weird purple line leading its way towards my book, it started to form letters. As it continued and continued, it started to form a sentence.

'The book you're looking for is located within the shrine.'

The... shrine? Is this about the shrine that Sakura-chan protects? No, that wouldn't make sense. If it was there, then, Sakura would've already known that the book hadn't left the shrine. Or... someone could be hiding within it? Or maybe... the other shrines that could be in the other sectors?

Before I could ask Little Guy another question, I heard a buzz from my phone that was left on my desk and went over to it. As I had left it in a hurry from the chance Amelia-chan gave me, I didn't really get the chance to grab my phone and everything. Hm, I wonder who's texting me? I don't remember giving my phone number to anyone because...

I don't have any friends.

Then... who's texting me?

'How ya' doing, Haru? Got anything fishy from the school?'- Best Detective Watson

Amelia-chan? When did she even have the chance to get my phone number? Before I could reply, I had gotten another message from somebody.

'Heya, Haru! This is Kiara! You remember right? I didn't have the chance to put my name on your contacts, but I managed to put my phone number on your phone, and get your phone number on my phone! And don't even bother deleting mine! - Kiara

...

Okay, great, my life has gotten a whole lot worse. Even if I bothered to delete her number, Kiara still has mine. Forgetting about that, I decided to reply to Amelia-chan about the latest information I had obtained from the art room. Stuff like Little Guy, the book, and that was about it.

'Little Guy? Man, you gotta come up with better names, Haru. How about we start talking about the more pressing matter? You said that... Little Guy said that the book was in the shrine, right? Could you explain as to which one?- Amelia

Ask it about which one, huh? Hm, that does sound logical, but why didn't it explain which one in the beginning? Oh well, I'm going to have to ask him-

"Haru, I'm home!" Hearing my dad at the door, I walked downstairs to greet him since he always requires that I do so. I swear, I always hated how he changed after...

"Hey, dad, the way here wasn't..." I couldn't finish my sentence because of the astounding display that I was seeing right now. I was used to it, but my dad always came home from work at this time with boxes upon boxes of collecting valuables that would be worth selling in the future. I never knew where he went to get these things, but I never questioned it. Other than that, the fact that there was... a surprise visitor was what got me confused. And annoyed.

"Heya, Haru!" A familiar bird stood in front of me and greeted me with a smile and wave.

Yeah, it's safe to say that I am royally screwed.

"So, Kiara-san, you said that you two met after saving him from getting hit by a car, right? Well, for first, thank you for looking out for my son, and secondly... THANK YOU FOR BEING HIS FRIEND!" And here he goes getting all excited...

"Your welcome! I was happy to help him make sure that he was okay! But you know, typical boys aren't paying attention to their surroundings and focus on their phones, so it's no problem! And being his friend is nothing! I'm overall friendly to people that I don't know!" I can only go along with this obvious lie. If he hears that I had actually died and met this phoenix, then he would probably freak out and have a heart attack. But still, why do I have to be the idiot in this?

"But regardless, not only did you save my boy from death, you also helped me with these boxes! I must say that you have quite the strength! Because of that, we are forever in your debt! If there's anything you need help with, ask us and we'll be there for you!" I slammed my face down onto the table that we were sitting at.

"Oh, w-well... I don't have anything in mind right now, so..." Hearing her strained voice, I can tell that she's getting all pumped up that her plan worked out.

"No worries! Remember, we're forever in your debt! So any trouble that you have is trouble for us! Isn't that right, Haru?!" Without saying a word, I only raised a thumbs up. Now how am I going to figure out a way to get rid of her? "Would you like to stay for dinner? I could cook something quick for us to eat." To that, she only giggled.

"It's fine, it's about time I go home anyway! Besides, I like to eat chicken, and I have a fridge that's waiting for me to open!" I looked up to glance at her for a second. It's amazing that my dad hasn't asked about the feathers that's been sticking out of her hair. Maybe he's an idiot or something. As Kiara-chan noticed that I was staring, she only smiled and waved at me.

"Oh... well, that's too bad! Hm, about this? For the first of many times, how about I have Haru walk you home? You said along the way that it wasn't too far, right?" To that, I stood up from my seat.

"Wait a second, when did I agree to this?! I don't have to walk her home, she was doing just fine before you showed up!" To my anger, my dad only stared at me with a smile.

"Hm? Don't you think it's a good idea to owe the girl that saved your life? I mean, if I was in your steps, I would go by heaven and hell to pay back the person that saved my life, Haru." There was no use arguing with him. Noticing the gloomy look on Kiara-chan's face, I had no choice in this matter. If I'm going to lie, then I'm going to have to make sure that it's believable. I can't believe this mess.

"...Let's go, Kiara-chan." To that, her face brightened and got up from her seat. After walking out with her, I could stay quiet.

-Holonatural-

"So, you... managed to get past me, huh?" She questioned me as we continued to walk. As much as I cared, I wanted to hurry and get this over with and question Little Guy. There was no point in this-- "Hey, I'm talking to you, Haru~! At least answer me~!"

"Yeah, I did. What of it?" If I continued to ignore her, she was just going to be more annoying. And screaming in the middle of the night was going to get more attention to me.

"Can I ask how? I mean, one second I'm standing in front of you, and in the next, I found that friend of yours in your bed. How did you two do that?" I shrugged my shoulders. If I told her that Amelia-chan could stop time, then her weakness would be exposed immediately. It's best if I just laid off the matter.

"Why did you lie to my father?" I changed the subject quickly. Hearing a laugh, I knew that she cared about the previous question.

"Changing the subject, eh? Well, I guess I can leave it alone for now, but I will get my answer from you, Haru. As to your question, I did it because I wanted to establish a connection with your father." Of course I knew that. I just wanted to buy some time to get rid of the previous topic.

"Well, happy now? You get to come to my house and ask for things that you want. Now, I'm guessing that you are more pumped up because you can watch over me more now?" She stared at the yellow light from the lamp post at the sides of the street.

"Well, I guess you can say that. But as for your father, I actually lied to you for my reason." As we walked past lamp posts, I noticed how bright her hair can shine under the right light. Even under the moon's light, it still holds a bit of a shine.

"Lied?"

"Yeah, I lied. My reason for you helping your father wasn't so that I can establish a connection, it was to just help someone who needed help. To be honest, I didn't even know what your father looked like until he started talking about a kid he has named Haru."

"You... helped him because he needed help?"

"Yup! With all of those boxes, I doubt he was able to walk home without dropping at least two of them!" To be honest, I didn't even think about helping my dad with his boxes whenever I saw him to greet. I always thought that he had everything under control and that was that.

"...There are more people out there that actually need help. Wasting your time on me isn't worth it." I looked up to her to see that she had one of the biggest grins that I've seen.

"Well, I promise that I was going to protect you from Calli, didn't I? And not even that, I also promised to make sure you live a better life, right?" I scoffed.

"What would it matter if I'm immortal now? All I'm going to deal with from now on is the pain of getting chased by criminals, you, and a reaper."

"...That is true, but life is filled with disasters and hope right? I mean, I've been alive longer than you think, so I have experience!" After that, I didn't decide to speak. In fact, no one said anything after that.

"...But, you know, I thought about something Calli told me when we fought." In the corner of my eye, I saw that her hands were pushed behind her.

"..."

"She said that she was reading a report or reading your soul or whatever, but I didn't really care about that. I didn't care that you wanted to die right then and there. All I cared about," I felt a hand on the top of my head "Was the sad expression you had on your face when we first met. I can't read souls or anything like that, but I do like reading other people's expressions."

"..." She started to pat on my head.

"...And your expression cried out for me to help you. Until I see you go past your regrets with your head up, then I'll continue to help you," After feeling the patting on my head stopped, I looked forward to see Kiara-chan standing in front of me. "And for as long as we keep living in the same world together, then I won't stop." The moon's light sprayed her beauty with light. But even then, it didn't stop me from walking past her.

I wonder... if I could ask my friend the reason why she did what she did, would she say that it was from the goodness of her heart? Even then, that didn't stop the tears from going through the dam.

"Yeah... whatever." I continued to walk past her, but I could still hear her footsteps behind me.

I wonder... am I really cut out to put my life on the line for these people?

Even if I was so determined before?


	12. The Date(Encounter) With The Reaper

Feeling something soft pressing against my face, I slowly opened my eyes to greet the ceiling, in which I then turned to my right to see Little Squid pressing its face against mine. I took Amelia-chan's advice and decided to name it something else, granting the little thing a love to press its face against mine at any opportunity. Last night, I had to deal with it a couple of times, and it turned out that placing it inside a drawer didn't work...

"Alright, alright, you can stop." Moving Little Squid away from my face, I looked at my clock to see that it was half past 11. Okay, my dad isn't home, so I guess it saves me some time from trying to convince him that I'm leaving out to go somewhere. Sometimes, just talking to him is just hard since he's so protective of me. He never likes the idea of me leaving the house on my own, insisting that he goes along with me, even if it's something like getting groceries. I had to put my foot down for him to understand that I don't need him to take me to school. It was really annoying for how long he cried...

"You... helped him because he needed help?"

...I'll leave a note for him to know that I'm leaving.

"Gwii! Gwii!" Hearing Little Squid's sudden screech, I turned around to see Little Squid looking outside the window with an offensive-like form. What is he supposed to be? A dog barking at people who walk past the house?

"Hey, that's enough with all that noise. What are you staring at anyway? Looking out the window, I could see a sign that reads: "GET YOUR BUTT DOWN HERE!!!", being held by the person that I definitely want to see at this time: Amelia-chan.

Moving back a bit, I grabbed my sketch book and a pencil and wrote in it.

"I just woke up..." I wrote in response. With a marker in hand, she took the cap off of it and wrote on her sign. Why does she even have a sign to begin with? Why not just casually knock on the door and greet me?

"AND?! GET DOWN HERE! WE GOTTA GO!" -Amelia. Seriously? I wrote down my response.

"Can I take a shower first?" I showed the book on the window again, only for Amelia-chan to sigh at me. She then used her hands to show that I had ten minutes to do so. Seeing this, I raised my shoulders in disbelief. She then stuck her tongue out at me in annoyance. I swear, where does she get the idea to act like this to people?

Grabbing a pair of fresh clothes and bringing them into my bathroom, I sat them down and began to undress. After doing so, I turned my shower on and got in.

As I stood under the droplets of the water, I closed my eyes for a breath second, allowing myself to calm all of my nerves and let go. I've been feeling tense lately because of all that's happened. Dying, meeting Kiara-san, Calli-san, Amelia-chan, and Sakura-chan. They're all connected to the supernatural world, and I feel so calm about this. I'm immortal, and I don't feel all any different than normal. I backed myself into a wall and breathed in and out.

Everything just feels... I don't know, I can't even describe this feeling. Opening my eyes, they greeted the sight of the cloudy morning sky, filled with smoke, and filled with rain. The rain began to pour itself onto my face as I sat on my rear and stared at the clouds. The sounds of debris falling next to me didn't matter to me. I could only continue to stare at the clouds. Something felt different than what I normally remember. I felt something wrap itself around my leg, pulling me upwards into the air before more things began to wrap itself around my entire body.

As I continued to look up, I was greeted with the sight of something staring down at me. This wasn't how I remembered this event going.

No, it wasn't something, it was someone.

I couldn't see who it was, but the black--

"Open thy eyes and clear the mind clouded with sorrow. Find me, and I will allow you to forget."

I couldn't... my head... hurts!

*Splash!*

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" I opened my eyes to see the ceiling of my bathroom. Strange enough, I wasn't in the bath anymore and I was on the floor. I felt severely cold.

"Hey, are you listening to me?! Why the hell were you trying pull off a stupid stunt off like that?!" Raising my head to the person screaming at me, I recognized the same brown dress, golden hair, and blue eyes glaring down at me. What was her name again?

"Ame..." Hearing that, she reacted strangely as her eyes widened before appearing strained. Shaking her head, she grabbed a towel on my door and threw it on my face.

"C'mon, hurry up and get dressed. We have things to do, whether you remember or not." Ame... Amelia-chan. Yeah, for a second there, I almost forgot who I was talking to.

Looking back at my tub, I noticed that the tub water had been turned on, along with the shower. Had I... done that?

I can't remember...

-Holonatural-

"Our first stop is Sakura, right? Are you sure we should trust this little ink ball?" As we walked on the sidewalk, we carefully walked past people to not bump into them. Looking at the top of my head, Amelia-chan glared at the little creature, who I had felt it return the glare based on its newly changed position.

"We kind of have no choice in the matter. I kept asking specifically about where we should look, but it kept replying with a shrine drawing. We'll be lucky enough if we do manage to find it at the Supernatural Shrine that Sakura resides at." Strangely enough, people didn't notice the weird little creature on the top of my head, but one thing that people could notice automatically, was something that Amelia-chan was wearing.

"Well, great, for all we know, we could be--"

"Before you continue, could I ask the reason as to why you're wearing one of my hoodies?" The oversized hoodie was clearly noticeable to some people around us, but they decided to not speak out loud about it.

"What? I can't have people seeing me so easily. A detective isn't always visible, you know?" Well, other than visible, you can say that you're doing the opposite by being very noticeable...

"Say, why don't you tell me the reason why you did what you did earlier?" She questioned me while continuing on facing forward. We had to get to the shop which wasn't that far away from where we are, so I guess a little small talk would help.

"I don't know." I replied flatly.

"...You almost drowned, you know. Why don't you have some sort of serious reaction?" I couldn't read her expression due to the hood on her head.

"Well, I don't think I have much to worry about since I'm immortal." The sounds of multiple footsteps began to fade out as we continued walking. I wanted to know if she would move her head so I could see her expression.

"Still, don't you have the fear of death? How doesn't that frighten you?" I noticed her fist began to ball up a bit. She's clearly bothered by this.

"I'm risking my life on the line here. It's going to be like a game, right? It doesn't matter how many lives I use, I'm going to keep coming back to--"

"YOUR LIFE IS WORTH SOMETHING!" As we stopped because of her sudden outburst, I saw the expression that was on her face...

Anger.

"Don't you think you should value your life some more?! You're immortal, whatever, but remember that everyone isn't as lucky as you to think of this as a game! If life was so easy, then..." She didn't continue her sentence after that. Instead, she turned her face away from me.

"...I never considered myself lucky. I was never lucky to begin with." As I said that, I started to walk forward without her. Before I could turn around to see what Amelia-chan was doing, I felt the air become a bit more colder.

"Would you consider our meeting lucky then, Haru?" A familiar voice had entered through my ears, causing me to turn to the source of it, who appeared in front of us suddenly.

Calli-san.

"Calli-san, I can assume that you're here for my life?" I couldn't determine if it was the colder air that had formed a mist around us that caused my legs to shake, or the fact the grim reaper herself was here to kill me. Huh, I don't feel it mentally, but physically, I'm scared to my toes.

"I apologize for my lateness, but yes, I am here for your life," Swiftly swinging her scythe in front of her, the scythe stopped right at the side of my neck. "However, I'm going to let you decide whether or not you will die willingly, or painfully."


	13. Climbing Memories

"So what will it be, Haru Shinzou? Since you asked for it, how do you want to die?" Her eyes glittered with a cold presence of shine. Her eyes were cold, lifeless, and overall terrifying. She didn't appear this harsh when we first met, so what changed?

"..." I couldn't stop my body from shaking from her overwhelming presence. I hadn't felt this before when I was dead, but since I'm alive, it makes sense as to how I'm feeling the pressure. I didn't think that she would appear so suddenly. I don't even have anything to protect myself...!

"Is there something wrong, Haru? If you don't decide, then I will. It took a long time managing to obtain a human form and getting here, so it will be respectful for you to hurry up and decide." Human form? Nevermind that, she's getting irritated and impatient, so it's best if I just answer already.

"...I respect you for wanting to fulfill my wish, but I'm afraid that I'm going to have to postpone it." She lowered her scythe and looked at me with incredulous eyes.

"What?! You want me to postpone it?! What happened to wishing for death from me?! Are you telling me that you don't want to die anymore?!" I could feel the pressure rising in that single moment.

"...No, it's not that I don't want to die anymore," I raised my arm to scratch the back of my head. "It's that I can't die as of right now. I need to do something important before I call in the towel. If anything, you can use this extra time to--"

Right then and there, I felt as though I lost a part of myself. From the soft feeling that I had felt my hair... had disappeared so suddenly.

"What...?" It felt as though time was slowing down. The sight of blood clouded my vision, making me turn my head to see what caused the sudden bleeding.

My right arm had been cut off.

"ACKAAAAAAAGAHHH!" The pain was unbearable. I bent on a knee and continued screaming. Tears started to pour from my eyes and saliva started to come from my mouth. My head started to ache, and I couldn't feel my legs.

"I don't have time to listen to your reason, Haru. Make this easy for me as much as I would like to make this easy for you." I couldn't respond, my throat started to hurt from the screaming, and I couldn't just run.

"I told you that I will fulfill my promise. And for that to happen, you have to die." As I looked up to see her raising her scythe above my head, I could see the coldness in her eyes. She had gotten used to this because she was a grim reaper.

But for someone who was used to killing, why did her mouth curve downwards?

"KIKKERIKII~!" The voice of someone familiar had come from above, having us both look up to see a familiar orange clothed woman jumping down towards us with a sword in hand. Clicking her tongue, Calli-san had jumped backwards before the ground erupted beneath us as the person landed on the ground. As I landed on my back, I could see the same beautiful orange hair brighten ahead of me.

"Long time no see, Haru~! As much as you want to hide and do whatever you want, I'll always be on this planet to find you~!" She chirped happily.

"Stupid Bird, what are you doing here? You better have another reason other than wanting to stop me." Calli-san sneered as a welcoming greeting.

"Well, you already know what I'm here for~! Because someone had to leave without telling me anything, I had to arrive late. We both know that I'm stubborn, so why don't you call it a day? We COULD have some alone time together~!" While they continued to talk, I turned around to see Amelia-chan on the nearest wall and breathing a bit slow. It could be because of the cold mist and Calli-san's presence. We both need to get out of here if we're going to survive.

"Enough talk, Stupid Bird. If you came here to stop me, then, you're going to have to do so with a fight because I'm not letting this chance slip by." As Kiara-chan turned to me with a smile, that had soon turned upside down as she noticed the obvious situation on me. Her eyes had turned a bit lifeless before closing them and sighing. Turning around, she had touched a small emblem on her waist that had turned into a shield.

"Alright, Calli, let's just get this over with so I can heal Haru's wounds." Spinning her scythe around, Calli-san prepared herself.

"You might've caught me off guard last time, but I'm letting you get the chance to get close to my face."

"Oops, well, there goes that idea." Kiara didn't sound as her chirpy self anymore. She sounds more mature all of a sudden.

"Uhn..." Hearing her faint voice, I turned to Amelia-chan to see that her face was getting a bit pale. I'm going to need to let Kiara-chan handle this on her own; as if I was able to fight and help her...

"Come on, Amelia-chan, I-I need you to help me walk. ." Lifting her arm up over my shoulder with my only available arm. As I continued to feel more pain, I tightened my hand around her arm and walked forward. If we're going to get out of here, we're going to have to go around this mess...

"H-Hea...t..." I heard her voice again, but I couldn't figure out what she was muttering. But even if I didn't hear her, the faint glow that appeared from her new pouch on her left leg didn't pass my eye. As she used her left hand to reach into her pouch, she pulled out a red crystal that began to brighten more and more.

"What?" As I felt heat began to wrap around my body, I felt warmer than normal. Whatever she used to gather up this heat, it was surely helping.

"Stop... walking." Even when I heard her, I didn't stop. I couldn't help but continue to walk forward away from the fight that had started. But, suddenly, I was shoved on the ground and laid under Amelia-chan. As she laid over me, she had the red crystal in hand, she moved it to my right side and-

"Urghhh!" I couldn't scream anymore, but I did let out grunts of pain as I felt heat being pushed into my arm stub. This had continued for a few seconds before I felt my conscious slip slowly.

As my eyes opened slowly, I felt my body moving a bit slowly. Raising my head a bit, I could see a flashlight pointing forward in front of me, showing me a familiar sight of a dark tunnel.

-Holonatural-

"You're up, right? Come on, I can't keep carrying you forever..." As I noticed that Amelia-chan had my arm around her shoulder, my eyes blinked before moving my arm off of her.

"Amelia-chan, thank you..." I wasn't able to feel pain in my right side, so I guess I'm okay for now. But what am I going to say to my dad about this? He'll freak out about this...!

"Don't mention it. If anything, I should apologize for acting so slow. If I had reacted a bit more quicker, then you would've had your arm intact. The only thing we should focus on now is getting to Sakura."

"..." My father is one problem, but with only one arm, there are multiple things that I can't do anymore. I wouldn't blame Amelia-chan for my stupidity. If I had read the atmosphere, then, nothing would've happened to me. Why exactly...

"Thinking about your arm, huh?" It was more than obvious because I was staring at the stub that was once my arm.

"Yeah..." I felt her hand pat my back softly.

"It'll be okay. I'm sure there's technology that can help you get a robot arm! Just think about it! A robot arm that can transform into a gun, sword, or even a hammer!" I chuckled a bit. Odd, even for me.

"Yeah, I don't think that's possible in this day and age."

"Hey, it's worth trying to ask, right?"

"And who do you think is going to pay for something as advanced as that?"

"...Your dad?" I hummed.

"Well, maybe. I can't even think what his expression is going to be like when he sees me like this. You can stop patting me now." She moved her arm away from me.

"We're here, luckily. I almost thought we were screwed back there. We're going to have to thank Kiara for saving our rears." I hummed in agreement. She's back to her usual self, I think. Just moments before Calli-san came, we were arguing about a stupid decision that I don't remember doing.

Is this really okay with me to brush this off?

"We're here at the ladder now, so start climbing! You go first!" I hadn't noticed that we arrived at the ladder. I must've been in my thoughts for some time. Grabbing the bar with my only hand, I pushed myself up to climb.

"...Sorry." I spoke out loud as I climbed up again.

"Hm?" Her "hm?" sounded almost innocent.

"About earlier. You know, before we met Calli-san? I didn't expect you to get... so angry at me."

"It's fine, seriously. You don't have to be sorry about me screaming." Before I climbed up again, I felt this tug in my heart that bothered me. It caused me to tighten the metal bar.

"Still... if I hadn't caused you to be angry at me, then, we would've recognized something strange happening. Especially for you, who might know a thing or two about--ah!" Before I could continue, I felt a slap on my rear, causing me to look down to see a smirking Amelia-chan.

"Look at you blush~! Stop worrying about it! I told you that it's fine, so seriously, stop thinking about it!" I sighed before going back to climbing again.

"You know, you remind me of a person I met before." I scoffed before looking down again.

"Me, a suicidal idiot? Yeah, right." I started to climb again.

"Oh shut up and listen! So, long ago, I met this guy that used to always apologize for everything he did. It was quite funny and annoying at the same time." She laughed.

"Yeah, so apologizing is annoying to you? I'm guessing at the end of this story, the guy decided to not be your friend." I felt another slap on my rear but continued climbing.

"Anyway, things like addressing me without suffixes and all that caused him to immediately apologize to me. I kept telling him it was alright to address me without using suffixes, but I eventually gave up. Pulling his cheeks and ears weren't really helping either. Soon, time had passed and eventually, we ended up... you know, meeting up with another more and more."

"So, what? You two were a thing? I don't think I need to hear about your love life." I had gotten another slap on the rear.

"Can you just let me finish already? It's embarrassing as it is..."

"Fine. Go on ahead."

"It ended up with him knowing about my... detective work, and it led to him wanting to help out. I told him constantly that it wasn't worth it, but he ended ignoring all of my warnings. He wasn't the sharpest tool, but he did know some things. Everything was going well with cases that weren't a problem... until we had gotten one that happened to be very serious. I wanted him to not get involved in this mess, but he eventually came with me and decided on doing something rash..." I might've not been able to see it, but I could tell she was unhappy.

"Sorry." That was all I could come up with. I wasn't that good on cheering others up, but I at least wanted to try to be with her.

"It was my fault, so it doesn't matter. When we meet again, I'll be scolding him a million times over." I heard a sniffle from her. For someone like her, I didn't expect her to have this kind of story. She looked so giddy all the time that you just ignore the part where she's also human.

"Sorry, again." I felt another slap.

"...How old are you, Haru?" She asked with weird curiosity.

"16. Why?" She only chuckled for a response.

"No reason."


	14. It(Was)Wasn't(My)Fault

"Atatatata! Sakura-chan, that hurts!" The overwhelming pressure that covers over my right shoulder aches my entire body. I understood her as a shrine maiden, not a nurse! Needles are worse than these!

"If you keep moving around so much, then it's going to hurt! Spellcraft are very distinct compared to basic spells! If someone didn't use a gem on you, then this would be a lot more simpler..." We both stared at Amelia-chan. Compared to me, Sakura-chan could only her a stern look, only for Amelia-chan to rub the back of her head with a sheepish grin.

"Hahaha, I had to do it! If I didn't, then he would've died of blood loss!" Sakura-chan could only sigh as she finished tying the cloth around my shoulder, I gritted my teeth in pain. "You should be good to go now, Haru-san."

"Thanks..." I closed my eyes after looking at the cloth that covered my missing arm. I wish I could get over it, but I couldn't. I'm stuck with only one arm now.

"Haru-san," I felt Sakura-chan's hand touch my shoulder. "I'm... sorry that this had to happen to you. I didn't expect you two to be in harms way so suddenly. I knew that the criminals were going to be a hassle, but I didn't expect any other supernatural beings to be after you too." She looks at me with a saddened face.

"Don't look at me like that," I moved my shoulder away from her hand. "It's more bothersome for someone to show pity for my own stupid mistake. Let's just get this over with..." Sakura nodded sadly before walking in front of me.

"...Alright, if that's what you want, then I have no power to control your decisions. Now, please explain to me why you are here, Haru-san." I got up from off the clinic bed that I was sitting on and stood up.

"There wasn't anyone inside that art room. Instead, there was only this... weird creature that was..." My eyes widened as I noticed something missing. I had checked my pockets and even my head, but there was nothing there.

"I lost it!" The little creature that I had found in the art room had disappeared and I had no idea as to where it could've gone. It must've dropped from off of my head when Calli-san came!

"Is there something wrong, Haru-san?" Her head tilted cutely in wonder.

"The thing that helped us get some info as to where that book is. Strangely enough, it told me that it was located in a shrine, but we have no idea as to what shrine it wants us to look for."

"And you wanted to ask me for some information on the shrines in the other sectors?" I shook my head.

"...Are you sure that you checked everywhere in this area?" The glance at her caused Sakura-chan to crossed her arms.

"What is that supposed to mean? Of course I checked this entire shrine! Well, most of it..." That had gotten my attention.

"Most? There's more to this shrine than what is already shown?" Sakura-chan grimaced a bit before speaking out.

"...I didn't want to speak about it, but yes, there is a part of the shrine that has been closed off due to... a strange occurrence that had happened there around the time the book had gotten stolen. This part was available through a cave, but because of the... Basically, the cave had been closed off because of rumble."

She's hiding something, but it's not my right to push into personal business.

"So, all we have to do is to go through this cave right? It sounds easy enough." Amelia-chan sounded sure of herself. Well, I'm not a fan of closed and tight spaces, but it's something I'm going to have to do.

"I haven't been through that cave for a long time. To be honest, I still don't belive that the book is still here. Are you absolutely sure that the thing that you spoke to said that the book is in this shrine? Are you sure it's wise to trust that creature? If anything, this might be a trap for you two..." I thought about this being a trap as well, but if it is a trap...

"Amelia-chan, I think you should stay here where it's safe." I suggested, only for her to stare at me with widened eyes.

"What?! No way! Why exactly do I have to stay?! I'll have you know that I'm experienced with things like these! If it is a trap, then you're going to need some sort of protection!" She poked my head after every sentence. Grabbing her finger, I lowered it.

"And if it's a trap that's more troublesome like Calli-san, then we're both screwed. If anything, whatever is leading us to this place wants me for some reason. Getting you involved and possibly killed won't settle right with me." I don't want another life stolen because of me again.

"You're not convincing me, Haru. If you're doing this, then I'm going as well. You lost your arm, and the last thing you're going to lose is your life if you go there by yourself." As much as I didn't want to start another argument with her, I didn't want her to lose her life either. Seriously, when was I ever this concerned over someone else's life? What's changing me?

"Fine. Sakura-chan, can you lead us to where this cave is?" Sakura-chan looked like she was in her own world before she shook her head.

"Y-yes! Please follow me!"

-Holonatural-

"It's been so long since I've been here." Staring at Sakura-chan, I could see her eyes begin to glow a soft light as she stared at the rubble ahead of her. It wasn't that far off from the actual building, we just had to follow one of the many paths around this entire shrine and find this huge presentation of rocks.

"...In Memory..." Looking at my right, I saw a tomb and read the first few words on there. I see, there were lives lost in this area. No wonder Sakura-chan didn't talk about this place before.

"Please be careful. I would like to help out, but I need to protect the shrine from any intruders. And... if you find anyone in there..." Sakura-chan 's fists had clenched as she stared at the ground.

"...How do we get through?" The huge amount of rubble was getting in the way of our entrance into the cave. Besides, even if we get passed this, who's to know if there are more piles of rubble in the way?

"Allow me." Reaching into her pouch again, she brought out another red gem. Before she could do anything with the red gem, Sakura-chan grabbed Amelia-chan's wrist.

"Spellcraft is dangerous, Amelia-san. Just let me handle this, please." Amelia-chan pouted before placing the gem back inside her pouch. Where did this stuff about spells and stuff even come from? And more importantly, how does Amelia-chan even have these... items?

Standing in front of us, she held her palm out started to whisper something that we couldn't hear. Suddenly, her palm illuminated a red glow until a red orb appeared from out of her palm. Slowly, it moved to the pile of rubble and...

*Boom!*

"...I'm glad that normal people are using spells like this in the normal society." As the pile of rubble had exploded, the path inside the cave was clear, allowing us to finally enter. Hopefully, there's no more rubble in the way.

"Thanks for that, Sakura..." There was sweat clearly dripping down Amelia-chan's head as she noticed how strong the spell was.

"It's no problem. With the path now clear, I advise you two to be on your guard at all times. I don't know if there are going to be dangers ahead of us, but if there are, then please come back quickly. I'll figure a way to seal this up again while you two are inside." If there was anything to be afraid of right now, it would be the pitch blackness inside the cave.

"Amelia-chan, I hope you're ready for this." I stood right next to her.

"Me? I should be asking that to you. Want me to hold your hand while we go in? You're shaking like a deer in headlight." I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, yeah, let's just... do this already." We started to walk towards the entrance of the cave and went inside.

-Holonatural-

"This place is much more darker than the tunnel we've been traveling through. Even with a flashlight on, you can barely see what's in front of you." With both of our lights on, we couldn't see that much in front of us. 

"I can't imagine how it was like for those who traveled in here before." I spoke while squinting to see a bit more.

"Well, we haven't encountered anything dangerous... yet. Are you sure that you're up for this? I would've expected you to just go home and lay down after what just happened to you."

"I should be taking a nap right now and pretending that this was all a dream, but I'm afraid that I can't do that when we are so close to finishing this." Stopping a bit, I heard a cracking noise from the left us. Turning to it, there was nothing there. I must've been imagining things.

"Fine, I guess I can't control your decisions. But if you lose another arm, then you're done for now on." If I could see her expression, I could tell she was smirking playfully. I swear, she's like a gremlin always trying to attacking me when the moment is right.

"I've been meaning to ask you about those gems that you have. Where did you even get them?" It felt like we were walking for a long time, so like the tunnels, it's probably best to just start up a conversation.

"Oh, well, because I have my ways of course! A detective never gives off her important secrets! If you want to, however, I can teach you how to make some these bad boys!" Her giggles sounded so weird, it's almost equivalent to an actual gremlin.

"I'll think about it. As much as I want to protect myself, I don't want to cause destructive damage that could potentially hurt a innocent bystander. If you have other things, I'll probably choose those over the gems." I heard another sound and turned to my right this time. Is there something in here with us or something?

"Hm, well, I could teach you some basic self-defense moves if you're interested. They'll help you disarm someone with a gun or weapon, but if we're dealing with someone like the woman from before, then, you're going to need something very-" Suddenly, I couldn't hear Amelia-chan's once anymore. Even the light from her phone had disappeared as well.

"Amelia-chan? Where did you go?" I turned my camera all around me to find any signs of Amelia-chan, but I couldn't find anything. Did something take her or something? Damn it, where did it even come from?!

"Amelia-chan?! Where are you?!" I started to run forward a bit to see if there are were anything, but I can't see anything that much. My light from the phone was starting to flicker every few seconds, and I can't figure out why my phone was starting to die so quickly.

"No... leave her out of this!" I heard Amelia-chan's voice to my left which led to another path. Taking it, I ran forward to see what happened to her.

Who is she specifically talking to anyway?

"Please... let her go. Let her go!" Her screams started to get louder and louder what is going on wither her!

Finding her with her hands clenching her head on the ground, I went to her side and started to shake her.

"Amelia-chan?! What's going on with you?!" She started to mutter some words along the lines of "she's not a part of this" and "it was my fault for it". What is going on?

"Amelia-chan?! Come on, we have no time for this!" Her eyes started to widen with fear and craziness as if she wasn't in this world anymore. If anything, she's too lost in her own thoughts that she's not listening to me. Shaking her wasn't working, so I need to get her out of here. We aren't too far inside, so the best thing to do is to take her back to Sakura-chan and do this myself.

"Alright, I'm taking you back to Sakura-chan. I don't know why I'm not acting-" Suddenly, my head started to ache as if there was something trying to rip put of my skull.

"It's not your fault."

"How..." The pain was starting to become unbearable.

"It's not your fault."

"Shut... up!" I started to crawl towards Amelia-chan, who laid down on the floor unconscious.

"It's not your fault."

"You're not her! You're just a... figment of my imagination!" The sight of the cave started to disappear into something else entirely. I felt the touch of water softly landing on my head, along with the gentle feminine hand that caress my face, the sight of a burning building, and the smell of a burnt body that was in front of me.

"Just leave, Haru-kun! It's not safe for you to be here!" If I had left the building when she told me do that, would she still be alive?

It was hard to remember what exactly started the fire that had basically burnt the entire building down.

Along with my mother and sister.

But, now that I'm finally experiencing this again, I could finally remember what exactly caused the fire...

The sight of animalistic pointy ears had been formed from within the fire.

"It was all my fault."

-Holonatural-

I was able to finally see clearly now. The sight of light at the end of a tunnel was in front of me, as my body began to walk in auto pilot. How long had I been walking? My legs were so tired, that they were going to give out at any second.

I don't remember.

Where is she?

Where is Amelia-chan? Did I leave her back there?

I finally exited the cave, only to be greeted with the sight of a light that was not familiar to me. While it was cloudy, the atmosphere around me feels empty.

This was the sight of the other side of the shrine.

There was dead trees everywhere and every single fiber of color around the area was devoid of bright colors.

Expect for red colored umbrella that was carried from someone in front of me.

"To come here while being on the verge of forgetting oneself is commendable, Haru-kun. However, now that you found me, I have to ask you one question," The person with a feminine voice started to turn around, allowing me to see her long black hair, a halo that lies above her head, her revealing alien-like outfit, and tentacles that surrounded her body.

"Water you going to do now?" She grinned.


	15. Ninomae Ina'nis

A few moments ago, I felt as though I wasn't a part of myself anymore. A few minutes ago, I felt as though that I was experiencing hell again. And for a second ago, I felt as though I was truly in front of the most dangerous person in the world...

"To think that most of my jokes weren't Inaff for you to laugh, Haru-kun. I've been practicing those for quite some time. So much so, that I lost track of time. I can think of some more things that can make you tick, but I think it'll be very... time consuming..." I don't remember how long I've been in here, and I don't really much care anymore. All that mattered would be for her to the jokes please...

"Were you being serious when you said that you don't remember how long you've been in here?" I wanted to start a new conversation so I don't have to listen to anymore puns and jokes. This was like her 20th one that I've heard...

"...Maybe." Ina-chan diverted hurler attention away from me so I couldn't read her face.

"Please don't tell me that I'm stuck here for the rest of my life."

"...Maybe." She continued to not look at me in the eye.

"You're pulling my arm, aren't you?"

"No, it'll be rude of me to do so since you only have one." She said as she turned her back to me. I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose.

There was a brief silence between the both of us.

"...Why do you have the book, Ina-chan?" To that, she turned her head at me. I've noticed the book that's been flying around her for some time now, but I was never bothered by it. I was definitely not bothered by it.

"I have my reasons, Haru-kun. The best way to put it is to say that I found the book by complete accident." Found it by accident, huh?

"I can't believe that story if Sakura-chan told me that it was stolen. You may have not been involved with this organization, but I don't see how you can just find the book laying around." Compared to a second ago, her eyes were a bit bright, but now... they seemed to become analytical for some reason.

"Sakura-chan, huh? Oh, you mean the shrine maiden! Believe what you want to believe, Haru-kun, but I tell you the truth. Would you really believe in the words of someone you just met?"

"If they have the experience on what's happening to the supernatural world, then, I have no choice but to trust them. Especially when they're someone like Sakura-chan." She let out a giggle in response.

"Well, I guess I can't argue with that logic! But," She suddenly stopped giggling and stared at me with... unpleasant eyes. "Are you really sure you should trust her? Are you sure that she's not hiding information from you? Are you sure she didn't send you to your death upon coming here? Are you sure that-"

"Enough of that! I could handle your jokes, but questioning my rights on trust is a step too far!" I could trust her. She didn't send me to my death because she didn't know what was in here either. "If you're done trying to-"

I felt a gentle cold touch on my hand.

"You're shaking, Haru-kun. Is it perhaps that you can't handle my questions... or are you just cold?" When did she even get next to me? I was just looking at her... right?

And to be honest, it was cold out here. Everything was devoid of life, after all...

"N-no, I'm neither! How about you worry about yourself since you're wearing... that." Pointing to her... choice of a outfit, it revealed too much skin for someone in this kind of weather. She should be the one shaking from the cold!

"There's no need to worry, Haru-kun. I'm not here to frighten you or kill you. I am simply here to just speak to you." Dodging my previous statement, huh?

"Thanks for the reassurance; I was sure that I was going to die from the amount of jokes you were making." She started to laugh out now.

"Well, considering that you're the first to listen to the jokes, I'll make sure to not bore you or anyone else anymore!" For someone as powerful as her, she laughs and acts pretty normal... until she starts getting a bit scary.

After her laughing session, it had become quiet between us again.

"...You really are a strange one, Haru-kun. I was expecting a more... scared part of you to come out, but I guess this part of you is fine enough." She started to walk forward enough to begin to climb the stairs we were next to. I wasn't going to bother to follow her as I need to get out of here.

"..." I couldn't think of anything to say to her. This is the person that holds the book that could very much end humanity right here and now, but she instead stays here where there is nothing. Is there some sort of limit that she has? Or does she not want-

"I have a question for you to answer, Haru-kun." Upon looking up at her from the bottom of the stairs, I couldn't help but feel overwhelmed by her otherworldly presence. Compared to Calli-san, her presence felt as if the world was bending to her will.

"Depends on what it is supposed to be." I didn't see her twitch or move from her spot. But, right then and there, something popped up from behind her. I couldn't describe what it was, but the way it moved was... not normal.

"I have been wondering this question within my head for a long time, Haru-kun. From the day we first met, and the days that continued," Her figure was being illuminated from a color similar to the moon. Probably because the moon was actually right behind her. "Are you scared of me?" The strangely moving object behind her started to become many. So many, that I understood what was behind her...

Tentacles.

"...Of course I'm scared," From the way her eyes widened, I could tell that those words were something she didn't want to hear. "By far, you're the most terrifying person that I've met. From your jokes to appearance, they are things that freak me out because I can't understand you. You're supposed to be the most threatening person in the world, so why is it that you're trying not to be? You have the power to somehow experience my past again, and you have the power to kill me... and yet you don't for some reason. What's stopping you from becoming the true terror that I had heard you were supposed to be?"

"..." She didn't speak nor looked at me. Her bangs shadowed her eyes and I couldn't see how her eyes were like. If she got her answer, then, it's time for me to leave.

I could only hope that Amelia-chan is alright.

Stepping away from the staircase, I walked back to the cave entrance. My hand and legs had been shaking so much, that I couldn't help but breathe heavily. I have the information that I wanted, so it was time to go back to Sakura-chan after finding Amelia-chan.

"Where are you going, Haru-kun?" I felt a chill run down my spine as I felt cold air brush past me. I turned my head back slowly, only to be greeted with the sight of Ina-chan in front of me. I would like to move and run, but I was too scared to do anything. I reached my own limit.

"I... have to find Amelia-chan. I left her there, so I have to hurry and get her." I then felt something slithery wrapped around my stomach. 

"Amelia-chan? Oh, that girl you were with in the beginning, right? You trust her too, right?" Thag question had gotten me to sweat a bit. "I'm sure... Amelia-chan is alright on her own. She's been doing a lot on her own after all." To that, I suddenly had the courage to move my body away from her.

"What do you mean by that?! What do you know about her?!" The thought of her knowing something on Amelia-chan frightens me. To be truthful, Amelia-chan is a bit strange with knowing some things, but that's because she's a detective! I'm sure that was it!

"But is it really it, Haru-kun?" She... could read my- "Thoughts? Very much so, Haru-kun. Ever since I established a link to your amygdala, I was able to listen to your thoughts and look through your memories. But enough of that, what do you know about, Amelia-chan? You've only met a few days ago, right?" I couldn't help but back up a bit. She... knows of that time! She knows!

She knows!

"She knows more than she looks, Haru-kun. However, it is good to tell you that she is still alive and well. If she didn't have a strong mentality, then, she would've been left insane in the cave." Her eyes showed that she didn't care for someone that she hadn't met. Hollow and empty.

"...What do you want from me? Even if she is okay, I need to get her out of there." Before I could stop into the cave again, I felt a tug around my stomach, bring me back towards Ina-chan.

"I already have what I want from you, Haru-kun: I finally have a friend to talk to." There were more tentacles starting to wrap around me from my feet to my hips.

"We've... only just met!" I tried to squirm my way out, but I couldn't, even if they were slithery, there were too many to get away from.

"Irony. But, it seems that you have somehow forgot how we actually met. Don't worry, I'll be sure that you remember accordingly." The tentacles started to wrap itself all the way up to my nose and eventually to my eyes.

"And don't worry about Amelia-chan. I'm sure... that she has all the time in the world to escape." It was like I was suffocating. I couldn't breathe, and I couldn't move.

I can't move.


	16. It was me, Ina!

"Welcome, Haru-kun." When I opened my eyes, the familiar surroundings that were reminiscent of my classroom was in front of me. I wasn't in it, I was merely floating in a black abyss that seemed to hold me in place.

I opened my mouth to ask her where we were, only for nothing to come out.

I couldn't speak.

"I would like to say to take your shoes off when coming in here, but I think we both know that you can't do that. Since the average human body cannot take the pressure of a space like this, I had to make sure that you won't be able to do anything for you to survive. You might think of this as a chamber of some sort." I was more than confused as to what she meant by that, but I chose to ignore her previous attempt of a joke.

"It's time for you to learn about Ninomae Ina'nis! I'll be your host, Ninomae Ina'nis!" I think I'm more than glad enough that I can't formulate words and sounds because if I did, I would be groaning in annoyance.

"As you can see here, I wasn't that much of a extrovert." From the vision I was given to me, I could see her sitting at her desk and scribbling on her book. It looked enough that it was during a free time that she was doing this.

"I didn't have any friends to talk to. No gossip about the hottest guy in school, no conversations on your favorite food and all..." I had seen multiple people walking past her desk as they enabled conversations around her, as if she didn't even exist. I would say that my experience was kind of the same.

And strange enough as it sounds, I had been sitting a few seats behind her. I wasn't focused on my surroundings as I had been writing in my book for whatever reason I don't remember.

"For as long as I can remember, no one bothered to speak a word to me. To everyone, I was an existence that didn't really have the chance of socializing with other people. They took my appearance to consideration, and never thought about bothering me." With the glasses, the long and messy hair, and the focused expression to her book was already noteworthy. She was a bit of a... focused and lazy person.

The vision had changed into a scene where I could see Ina-chan drawing in the lunch room cafeteria where she continued to draw and eat at the same time. People continued to walk past her with their lunch in hand and conversing with the people around them.

"To be honest, I wasn't really bothered by the fact that I didn't have any friends. For as my drawings were something that I would really like to focus on. They say that the biggest turn in life are the things that are in front of you... but if you're wondering who said that, no one did, I was the person who just created it." I closed my eyes and tried to sigh.

Opening them, I had seen a glimpse of myself walking with a food try in hand with Shinzo-senpai constantly bothering me from behind. I don't really remember what we were talking about. But, huh, did Shinzo-senpai talk to me even before the trip? I can't remember that much of us having conversations that much.

For some reason, just watching her sit alone with no one go talk to is... rather annoying.

I mean, isn't it the way of life for all teenagers to hang out and socialize with others in high school? I wouldn't care about doing those things because... I don't really care about it. But watching someone else living this kind of life of not socializing with others for no reason...

Annoys me.

I would've thought that I would be the only one anti-social.

The vision had changed again to a scene where she sat at a desk inside the art room. Again, she was doodling in her book which were truly impressive. To my surprise, the door opened to reveal a male and female walking inside the class. Both wore glasses, whereas the male had blue spiky hair, and the female had pink short hair.

"Ina-chan, do you have any ideas as to how we can get more members?" The male asked, seemingly ready to get an answer from the focused Ina-chan, only for her to not give them a response.

"Ina-chan, you're the president of the art club, so it should be in alarm to you that if we don't get enough members, then, we're going to get shut down! Do you want this to happen?!" Again, she didn't respond to them, only focusing on her own work. So... Ina-chan was the president of the art club?

"Ina-chan, please, we need a plan to keep this club stable! Just like you, we all love art! If you don't take action soon, then everything that we've worked for will be for nothing!" Again, she didn't respond. For the president of a club, you would think that the members of the entire club are communicating well, but sadly, it doesn't seem as so.

And as they waited and waited for her to respond, they soon gave up, closing the door without another word to say. As the clicking of the sound echoed in the room, Ina-chan had flinched in terror.

"H-huh? Was... someone in here?" She spoke out before continuing back to her previous work. Don't tell me that they as something clogged in her ears!

"Well, I guess I can't lie about the fact that I'm a bit slow when it came to my surroundings! Tehe~!" I wouldn't think that not being able to be aware of your surroundings is something worth laughing at. How did she even land the role of becoming the president of that club anyway?

But it's more frightening as to the reason why Aiko-sensei didn't tell me about the club president for some reason. Did Aiko-sensei know Ina-chan?

"Of course she did. I went to her so I could get into that position, you know. She's a really strict teacher, but I think you already know that already. She does focus on the students that are most anti-social with others." Right, being able to read my thoughts again. Right.

"Your thoughts and memories are very much... impactful to me. I mean, I admire how much you can change when given the right situation. At a normal perspective, you don't seem to care about those around you. But under that disguise that you hold, im pretty sure you do. Oh, how much one can change." If I could see her correctly, I could guess that she's giggling in her hand right now.

If you're so keen on looking through my memories, why would telling you even matter? You do realize that telling me that you could even do this would make me think of you as a pervert, right? I respect others spaces, so you should as well.

"Oh, stop it. Just because I know you more than anyone else that you've met, it doesn't mean that I should be called a pervert." I'm pretty sure that invading personal space is a deserving criminal label as a 'pervert'.

"Ahem, going back to before any of this, I think you should know that a person's actions is more than enough to change those around them, correct?" Right. What are you even getting at?

"People can listen to the smallest of words and still be influenced by them. Whether they choose to believe it is something that's worth noting. Ao-chan was always keen on understanding human decisions and behaviors, too." Ao-chan? There's no one else here besides me and you, so who is this person that's hiding around?

"This is the art club, right?" Hearing my own voice, I turned to the vision and stared at a scene that showed myself entering the art room. Still sitting at the same desk, she was still doodling in her book.

"Not anymore. The art club has already been canceled." As if she learned to speak while drawing, she responded to this... past version of myself. No matter how I look at it, I don't remember being here and talking to her.

"If it was, then, why are you still here?" I ask with a sketchbook in hand while going to a desk to sit in.

"Because... it's nice being alone?"

"Huh, I see..." As the conversation ended here and there, no one said anything to each other. But that was until I saw Ina-chan opened her mouth to speak.

"Why are you here?" She slightly turned her head to look at me.

"To be alone. I'm not the type to socialize with others. I'd rather be alone than hear who's the most stunning babe, or something like that. Teens these days would rather focus on their interaction with the opposite gender than their own work."

"Is... that so? Sorry for asking. I didn't mean to get you so worked up and rant about others." She was seen sweating a bit from my answer.

"You don't need to apologize for anything. I just like to tell others about my views on life when I have the chance. It usually ends up with them leaving me alone, but I don't care about that. Man, people are just so ignorant at times about the truth."

Again, there was a pause between us.

"Do you hate the world?" The question surprises my past self.

"Hate it? Well, I don't like how the world works right now; your value is only viewed from the amount of money you own and how famous you are. Useless violence over fame and trivial things, how people can just be so ignorant, and how they can just wish for everything to come to them, even if they didn't put in the work is what bothers me."

"You... see things in life a bit differently than others. I can agree on some points, but I don't belive that everything is perfect in the world, even the people. I might not... speak to others that much, but I do believe that certain aspects of life are beautiful when you're with someone when you share them." My past self could only stare at her with not-so-surprised eyes.

"Huh. Well, that's a way... to think of life." That was the last words I had seen before the vision had started to rapidly change into images of Ina-chan sitting at a spaces alone with drawings that can only be seen as... unnerving.

Before it showed that she hadn't been seen in the areas that she had previously drawn at.

And the last vision to come up was the scene of myself entering the art room alone with nothing but my sketchbook.

"Why are you showing me this?" Before I could even comprehend where I was, the words that came from out of my mouth came from instinct.

Back at the entrance of the cave, Ina-chan, with her crazy amount of tentacles surrounding her, could only smile. "Would you believe me if I told you that you were the first person I considered as a friend?" Of course, I squinted my eyes.

"I wouldn't. How does any of this have to do with you owning the book?" She turned around to stare at the moon that now glares its brightness at us.

"...Friends are willing to do things for each other, you know? After meeting you, Ao-chan and I became close because she knew so much about me. It was shocking how much she could understand the pain that I went through. Even you, Haru-kun, I consider a friend, even if I didn't know that much about you at first. Tell me, Haru-kun, do you know why Shinzo-senpai died for you?" My eyes widened at the sudden discussion.

"Don't tell me that you were involved in that!" Taking a few steps to me, I hesitated to even get away from her. She's too dangerous to just leave my back in her direction.

"Well, let's just say I did a little in that," As she raises her hand, it went past my ear, only for her to bring it back, revealing the small creature that I had lost earlier. "But this little thing? My Takodachi? I was able to see things where I am not at because of it." As it began to cuddle into her cheek, it stared at me before raising its bottom and waving it at me.

"You see, Haru-kun, not only was able to see things with it, but I was also able to do things that are supposed to be impossible; like taking over bodies for example." I stepped back away from her.

"You... made him do that?" She smiled as a response.

"Well, considering the fact that I became Shinzo-kun, then yes, I did make him do that." Her words were as like her smile.

Horrifying.


	17. Evaporated Flames

*Huff* *Huff!* "I finally... made it to the shrine! My feet were close to giving out on me, but I still have a promise to fulfill!" After running up the stairs, I looked forward to see an old building in front of me. It wasn't as detailed as I thought it would be, but no matter! I have no more time to waste! Time to find Haru!

"Huh? A guest?" Hearing a female voice on my right, I looked to see a girl that wore a shrine maiden's outfit and was on her way down to me. This one... Yup! She's a cutie! The outfit, the pink colored and pony tailed hair... it's all cute!

"Excuse me! Do you know the whereabouts of a guy named Haru?!" After walking down to me, her eyes widened in horror. What?! I'm not ugly! I'm as beautiful as they--

" Are you okay?! You're--"

"There's no need to worry about me, Cutie! I have someone to meet and someplace to be! Now, tell me if you know about a guy named Haru!" I figured that she would notice the obvious. It's not everyday she would meet someone like this, huh?

"Y-yes, I do know Haru, but before I answer anything, you need to get treated! You're--" I raised up my right palm to stop her from talking.

"So he's been here, correct! Alright, tell me where he went!"

"H-huh? Wait, this is no time to be worrying about him right now! You should-"

"Location. Now!" As much as I didn't want to yell at her, I had no choice but to do so to hurry this up. He could already be in danger, so I can't risk leaving him alone! Especially with that detective...

"I... He's down the path that I came from." As I heard her beginning to mumble something that was close to "why isn't anyone listening to me?", I patted her head and followed the path she came from.

"Thanks a bunch! Don't worry, I'll bring them back before you know it!" My body knew that it was time for rest and a huge nap right now, but I can't do that right now. I made a promise, and I'm already failing it by leaving that detective with him! Her interactions with him is making him more crazier and making him do stupid things!

Well, at least he can't die.

"Don't you worry, Haru! Takanashi Kiara is on her way to SAVE YOUUUUUUU!!!!!"

Again.

\-------------Holonatural-----------

I felt like I had been running for minutes that were close to an hour. The caves felt all the same and never different when turning to any corner. Everything felt the same and I was starting to go insane after finding the same area that water dripped above me when I first started.

'It was never your fault.' I clenched my head for the third time. Everything that I was hearing in here isn't real, so I can't listen to them!

The shivers that I had felt in my spine had caused me to run inside the cave and never stop. Unfortunately, I have to deal with being lost and with these fake words that are being imprinted in my head.

'You have to run, Haru! You'll be fine with-' No, I don't need to hear this anymore. I don't. I never wanted to hear it. That was never supposed to happen, so why did I have to suffer from this?

I looked around, seeing a familiar cave spike that led me to the exit of the cave. The problem is that it would just lead me to the exit in which I found Ina-chan. This wasn't right; why did it keep leading me to this exit? Why isn't this cave letting me leave?!

"You already know that answer, Haru-kun," I heard her voice, looked around, and found nothing. Where was she talking from?! "Poor Haru-kun, have you forgotten that I can communicate with you through your brain? Ah! I should've told you that after running in for a bit. But don't worry, you'll soon forget about me, that event, and everything else. After that, we can start the introductions over again."

I... can't take her words lightly. I need to find a way out of this cave before I lose myself!

I ran forward and away from the cave spike that I had seen, hoping to see a different path than the usual. Finding the same fork that I had seen for the third time, I took the left and was greeted with another fork. This... wasn't like this before! Could... it be...?

'I'm sorry, but I'm afraid that you were the only survivor. If we had managed to keep our subject contained, then-' I don't want to hear this! I don't care about it! I don't care about it! I just want to leave!

"Where are you, Haru-kun? You're only making this harder for yourself if you keep going deeper into the caves and getting lost. Why not just accept a peaceful life here? You have no more violence to deal with, no more people to deal with, and... I haven't thought about the rest, but hey, no more people!"

My legs were starting to give out on me. As much as awake I was, I don't have the stamina to keep going. I can't fall down. I can't let her find me. I can't let her find me.

I tripped on something and found myself scraping against the cold and hard rocky floor. Whatever I tripped on had caused a bunch of small pebbles to fall down behind me, causing an echo to surface through the entire cave.

"I heard that, Haru-kun. I'm on my way to see you." I felt my legs cramp and twitch from the sudden shock. I don't care how hurt my body is... I want to leave! Getting back up, I walked forward with pain in my left leg.

'Why not go with her?' Even hearing my younger sister's voice, I continued to walk forward.

'You have no need to rely on your memories, Haru-kun. From this girl, I can feel the loneliness in heart as well. Everybody is lonely, Haru-kun. Even I am. As a simple memory, I was given the life to exist upon your head and can only voice things you didn't want to hear.' They were fake.

'I was given life because of you, Haru-kun. You felt the need to cling to me for so long, that I had lived inside as a piece of your subconscious. We've been living together ever since I've actually been gone. We grew and became stronger than our past self. Can you even remember what I look like? I don't have a body, shape, or even a form. I can't move, Haru-kun.' She didn't sound so little anymore. She sounded like a teen.

'She can ease your pain and make you forget everything that happened to me. To us. She'll make you happy.' I found myself at a dead end with nowhere to go. But it wasn't a normal dead end. There was a huge part of the cave that was missing, only showing a huge pit in the ground.

'Let go of us, Haru-kun, and go to her. You became strong in your end, so it's finally time to end this neverending story of pain.' My body had unconsciously raised its hand to the ceiling of the cave, as if I was trying to grasp onto something that wasn't even there.

'Go to her, Haru-kun. You need to know that everybody has a key to someone's heart. Even with this girl, a heart and mind that's been clouded by a book. I'm sure you can help her too, right? I mean... you used to love helping others when you were little, right? It's best that you don't forget who you used to be.' If I was there to see her, I could guess that she was smiling with her usual stupid grin.

"Don't leave me here..." My body started to move forward, almost seemingly falling into the pit.

'Go to her, Haru-kun. To Kiara-chan. That's the first step to becoming happy.' I felt the multiple strings in my head snap, causing a widespread of pain to enhance within my head. Before my body went past the ledge, it had came to a sudden stop. I felt someone's hand over my chest, not wanting to fall down there.

"Oopsie. Can't have you falling into one of my experiments, can we?" It was... I don't remember. Their voice was faint, but I can hear the softness of her voice. It sounded a bit relaxing, honestly.

"Let's get you back where you need to be." Being picked up in her arms, I felt a bit calmer. My head wasn't hurting that much, and I could... feel a little peace. Who was she again? She looks human, but... something about that halo over her head seemed otherwise. Was she an angel that came to save me from death?

But... I'm immortal, aren't I? My eyes had been slowly closing and opening. Without any alarm, I didn't know where I was. I was inside of a cave and... for what reason?

"Don't worry, Haru-kun, your thoughts and worries will soon be gone after I wipe those unwanted memories you have. Everything is going to be-" Something bright had appeared to our left.

"Hands off Haru!" Feeling myself being elevated, I had been lifted to safety. That woman... Kiara-chan. She's... here. Was she here to save me? From what exactly again? Looking at her, my eyes widened when I saw that she was missing her left arm.

"Well, there goes my plan of having no violence. Stay right here, Haru-kun. Takodachi, please and do keep him company." She smiled down at me before setting a small creature on my chest that began to nuzzle deeply on me. For some reason, I felt a bit more calmer than usual.

"What are you planning to do with Haru?!" I heard Kiara-chan scream out. Why was she even here with those injuries? She can't possibly hope to fight with them, right?

"Takanashi Kiara, right? I was expecting you for a while when you first entered the cave. Sad to say, you have quite some sad stories to share, don't you?" Before she converse some more, Kiara-chan had swung her sword diagonally, causing an aftermath of fire to be sent towards her.

Simply stopping the fire with her right hand, the girl smugly smiled. Before she could say anything, she looked to her right to see Kiara-chan there; simply and almost having the chance of slicing the girl into two.

If the girl hadn't disappeared so suddenly.

"This is a surprise. I thought you'll be the type for talking, Kiara-chan. With how much you talked with Calli-" She didn't have the chance to say anything, only for Kiara-chan to attack her when she found her.

"Answer me! What were you planning to do with, Haru!" Kiara-chan looked desperate and tired.

"I don't need to answer you. You should just know that Haru-kun is going to be in safe hands with me." She dodged another attempt at being cut by Kiara-chan. Why was she acting so desperate for? Why did she even come here?

"And you expect me to trust your words?!" Kiara readied her sword, only for her to come to a sudden stop. The sound of flesh being pierced was all I could hear. Looking at her stomach, the left side of it had been pierced, causing her to kneel down.

"Kiara-chan!" I wanted to move, but I was exhausted. My legs had soon given out on me.

"Kurk!" She managed to hold some blood in her mouth, but some had managed to burst through her lips.

"That was a warning shot. If you don't leave to be treated now, then, I'm afraid you'll be greeting death once again. But, you should be accustomed to that already, right?" Hearing a chuckle from Kiara-chan, she placed her remaining hand on the wound for fire to spur into it. After moving her hand, the wound was still damaged a bit, but not fatal.

"Kiara-chan..." I managed to call out in fear. Turning to me, she attempted to wink her eye, only for it to not fully close on her.

"Don't worry, Haru, this'll be done before you know it." Standing back up, she readied her sword.

"Don't be stupid! You're already tired enough, so run! Just forget about me already!" Even when I screamed and yelled, she still manages to smile. What even goes through that empty head of hers?!

"And leave you behind? I promised by word to make sure you live a happy life, Haru," The white sides of her sword had detracted from the blade entirely, causing a burst of blue flames to come bursting out of the sides. "And I'm going to give up on that promise to you!" She launched herself at the girl, only for her attacks to be rendered useless as she continued to dodge them.

"Such a friendship the two of you have," She dodges a vertical swing and backs up a bit. "But it seems more one-sided than anything. You, Kiara-chan, are only hurting yourself by only having these one-sided feelings onto others. Just like me, just like Haru-kun... you're lonely. In fact, the most lonely out of the two of us." She continued to mock Kiara-chan, but she only smiled in return.

"What can I say? I've been living most of my life wandering the world most of the time, that I haven't decided on who to settle with. And throughout my immortality, I had lost a lot of people that I considered friends, even if it was one-sided. But I still continued forward because I had to! I fought in battles that rendered me useless, but I still managed to get what I want! My own victory in my own way! Because it was something that I could control!" With a warcry, she swung her sword to create a cross of some sort with blue flames and sent them at her.

"Well, you're about to find out how useless you really are in this battle, Kiara-chan." As if the cave walls themselves were alive themselves, they stretched themselves to protect her from the flames. "Don't you see how futile this battle is?"

"Compared to my other flames, I could tell that these are going to hurt you since you relied on something else to tank them. I still have the advantage!" Running to her with the same blue flames, I could hear the girl sigh.

"You must be clouded enough to not realize that you were already in a trap." Before Kiara-chan could do anything, the walls around her had turned into spikes and pierced through her body. The flames in her sword had evaporated, and she could only stand there...

"Kiara..." My eyes were starting to give out on holding the dam. Seeing this... Seeing something so similar...

Walking up to Kiara-chan, the girl had dispersed the spikes off of Kiara-chan's body and took her sword. I couldn't see Kiara-chan's face, but she wasn't moving anymore...

"Such an attempt was made, Kiara-chan. Maybe, next time, try to remember that brute force won't always help you," Stabbing the sword into Kiara-chan's stomach, she smiled. "Because all of that built up energy is going to get you burned out." As she said this, Kiara-chan's body was sent far away from her.

"Kiara!" I had somehow managed to use whatever energy I had left in my body to get up and run to her. The takodachi might've fallen, but it didn't matter to me. I ran past the girl without anything else in mind but Kiara's safety.

At her side, the amount of holes in her body would've caused me to puke if I didn't muster the strength to hold it in.

"Ha...ru?" I heard her manage to let out.

"Yeah, it's me, I'm here!" I grabbed her hand and clenched it.

"Aww... I... wanted to show you a cool trick, but... I couldn't do it. Wait... hold on..." As she wanted me to wait, I saw a burst of flames come out of her left shoulder. After the flames had died out, there was a brand new arm there. "Ta...da....!" I could only smile a bit before tears blinded my vision.

"Aww... you... don't need to cry for me, Haru. You're... going to make... me cry too." She manages to put her left hand over mine.

"Of course I want to cry! You didn't need to come all this way to even save me! You could've gone on with your life without me, and you still could've been satisfied! And in the end, someone else had to end dying for me again!" I could see a tear coming out of her left eye.

"You know... she's right. You could've been safer with her around, but... I didn't want to let you go, you know. I didn't want another person that I considered a friend to be taken away from me again. Well, you might've seen me as a friend. Such a greedy gal I am, huh?" I couldn't say anything as I felt her hand giving out a bit.

"Maybe... it's because of how lonely I am, that I can't let go of these one-sided feelings. I still... manage to annoy so many people. But... you want to know something, Haru? This... was the first time that I had died for someone. From... all the... times so many others died for me... I think this feels nice. It feels real nice dying for someone you wanted to protect." Letting go of her hand, I grabbed the hilt of her sword and took it out of her stomach.

I stared at the blade a bit.

I turned the blade to face my body.

And stabbed my stomach.

"Haru-kun!" I heard the girl cry out to me, but I didn't care. Laying myself down next to Kiara-chan, I looked at the woman.

"Ha...ru? Why... did you do that?" Her eyes were shocked, but I smiled. This might be my first needed smile to someone else.

"Because... I'm tired... of someone dying for me. I thought... it was time for me to do what I should've done a long time ago. Call it... a payback if you... will." I felt Kiara-chan's right arm land on my hair and pet it gently.

"Stupid... You need to... value your life some more." She smiled, but only gently.

"I'm... using my life... as I see fit. You're... supposed to scold me... some more, right?" She let out a sort of laugh.

It was faint.

"Well... maybe... later." I soon felt her left hand give out as her eyes were now devoid of the same energetic eyes I had once seen.

Another person had died for me.

I looked up to see the girl looking down at me. With tears in her eyes and a worried look, she cries out my name. That's right.

Well, if I could hear properly.

"Ina. Maybe... you should... understand that... you can't force... friendship." It was like my mouth was moving on its own. I don't remember who she was, but my mouth had spoken the words.

Ah... this warmth feels a little familiar.

Maybe, in my next life, I could be a little more nicer to those around me.

I should better learn to cherish the things around me until they're gone forever.


End file.
